‘Bright Promote’ launches; ATTOM retools data framework Bright’s embedded marketing tool simplifies campaign creation. Plus, Clear Capital acquires Restb.ai; Broker Public Portal adds home valuations to Cribio; more. Editor's note: Technology is a driving force in real estate. From startups to established players, tech companies are constantly innovating, growing and forging partnerships. Here we highlight some of the latest news about the companies that help power the industry. Bright launches integrated listing promotion tool The country's largest MLS has launched Bright Promote, an integrated advertising tool that allows agents to create digital and mail marketing campaigns as soon as a listing goes live, the organization announced this week. The tool is designed to streamline listing promotion by allowing Bright MLS subscribers to manage campaigns from within the same platform they already use for listing management. Bright Promote automatically pulls listing details and photos to generate ads and includes campaign activation for Facebook and Instagram, budget and branding controls, and real-time performance tracking. "Agents should be able to market a new listing quickly and professionally, without adding complexity to their workflow," Brian Donnellan, president and CEO of Bright MLS, said in a news release. The offering, he added, "is another example of how Bright is building practical tools that solve real business needs for real estate professionals." The release follows Bright MLS's Sept. 2025 launch of a suite of technology tools, dubbed "Bright Solutions," developed in-house and made available to other MLSs nationwide. ATTOM unveils new data intelligence framework ATTOM has introduced a new framework designed to structure and deliver property data and analytics for AI-driven applications and workflows more effectively. The product — dubbed ATTOM Intelligence — includes a redesigned digital experience and an updated data framework intended to help users explore datasets, understand how data elements connect and apply
May 13, 2026 · via realestatenews.com
Video: Met Police facial recognition catches man who ignored Sexual Harm Prevention Order
Neville Cohen, 55, was stopped by officers for being wanted for failing to comply with a condition on a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) which required him to attend Croydon Police Station in October 2025.
He attempted to flee from officers and was arrested and later sentenced to four months' imprisonment.
May 13, 2026 · via metro.co.uk
A woman wanted for more than 20 years has been arrested during a six-month trial of live facial recognition in south London. In total 173 suspects were arrested for crimes including kidnap, rape and serious sexual assault during the pilot in Croydon, during which static cameras rather than vans were used for the first time. The Metropolitan Police said that crime in the area reduced by 10.5% during the trial, which took place between October 2025 and March 2026, including a 21% reduction in violence against women and girls. The static cameras, placed on Croydon High Street, were used in 24 operations, with arrests including a 36-year-old woman who was wanted for failing to appear at court for an assault in 2004. A 31-year-old man who was wanted for voyeurism for more than six months was also arrested, as well as a 41-year-old man who was wanted in connection with a rape in November in Croydon. Lindsey Chiswick, national and Met lead for live facial recognition, said: “These results show why live facial recognition is such a powerful tool when it’s used carefully, openly and in the right places. “Crime in this area is down by more than 10%, and the public can see the difference. “This technology is helping us find people wanted by the courts, identify serious offenders quickly and focus our resources where they make the biggest impact, all with exceptional accuracy. “We will continue using static cameras in Croydon as part of our regular live facial recognition deployments which play a vital part in keeping London safe.” More than 470,000 people walked past the camera during the pilot, which saw one false alert for which the person was spoken to by officers and then allowed to leave.
May 12, 2026 · via northwaleschronicle.co.uk
News — Met makes one arrest every 35 minutes during live facial recognition pilot More than 170 wanted criminals have been arrested during a live facial recognition pilot in Croydon, which saw static cameras deployed for the first time. New results, released today by the Metropolitan Police, show that during the six-month pilot, crime in the area fell by 10.5 per cent compared to the same period last year, with the biggest reduction seen in violence against women and girls’ offences, which were down by 21 per cent. Those arrested included people wanted for kidnap, rape and serious sexual assault, providing further evidence of the effectiveness of live facial recognition (LFR) at removing dangerous offenders from our streets. LFR deployments typically require the use of a dedicated van which houses both cameras and the computer equipment required to use them. For the duration of the pilot – which ran from October 2025 to March 2026 – cameras were instead mounted to existing infrastructure such as lampposts, allowing officers to run deployments in a more agile way. Officers used the static cameras as part of 24 separate operations and made 173 arrests – the equivalent of one arrest every 35 minutes. Arrests linked to the pilot include: - A 36-year-old woman who had been unlawfully at large for more than 20 years and was wanted for failing to appeal at court for an assault in 2004. - A 31-year-old man who was wanted for voyeurism for more than six months. - A 41-year-old man who was wanted for rape in relation to an incident which took place in November in Croydon. Lindsey Chiswick, national and Met lead for live facial recognition, said: “These results show why live facial recognition is such a powerful tool when it’s used carefully, openly and in
May 12, 2026 · via news.met.police.uk
I review a lot of laptops here at PCWorld, and I’m always surprised when I unbox one without biometric hardware. Fingerprint readers and infrared (IR) cameras for facial recognition are both great—and some laptops even have both! But then you have those that skip the biometric hardware entirely, which is a huge loss these days. I would never give it up if I had the choice. It’s so important that I won’t buy a laptop if it doesn’t have it, and I go out of my way to add it to my desktop PCs. Why? Because Windows 11 has a security feature called Windows Hello that lets me log in with my face or a fingerprint scan. It’s more secure and more convenient. In 2026, you shouldn’t accept any laptop that lacks Windows Hello support. You should avoid typing PINs in public Most laptops—unfortunately, not all laptops—now have built-in biometric hardware. You have two options here: a fingerprint reader (usually somewhere on the keyboard) or an IR camera that’s integrated alongside the normal webcam. Some laptops have both. Chris Hoffman / Foundry With biometrics, you don’t need to type your PIN or password whenever you sit down in front of your laptop. That’s good news because typing your PIN or password in public is a security risk. If someone is “shoulder surfing” and watching what you type, they could pick up on it—and PINs are particularly easy to steal. I can’t stress the security angle enough. Your PIN is the key to device encryption on your PC. With that PIN, a thief or attacker could bypass your PC’s encryption and gain access to all your data. It’s better to skip PIN entry altogether and use biometrics instead. Biometric hardware isn’t just for signing in Windows Hello is best known for
May 12, 2026 · via pcworld.com
📝 Summary Artificial neural networks, a family of ideas developed over 80 years, are the unsung hero behind current AI technologies such as ChatGPT, image generators, and voice assistants. These networks learn patterns from data and have been the core engine behind many AI systems, despite being largely invisible to the public. When people say “AI” today, many of them are thinking about ChatGPT, image generators, voice assistants, translation tools, coding copilots, or systems that can summarise documents in seconds. These tools feel new, powerful and sometimes mysterious. Yet the main engine inside many of them is not a sudden invention from 2022. It is a family of ideas that has been growing, failing, returning and improving for more than 80 years: the artificial neural network. This is why neural networks deserve to be called the unsung heroes of the current artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. The public sees the chatbot. The public sees the generated image. The public sees the smart search result. But behind the screen, the modern AI system usually depends on layers of artificial “neurons” learning patterns from data. Before ChatGPT, “AI” meant many things It is essential to remember that AI did not always refer to neural-network-based systems. Before the ChatGPT phenomenon at the end of 2022, AI was a broad umbrella. It included expert systems that used human-written rules, symbolic programming in languages such as LISP, fuzzy logic, image processing and recognition, search and planning, robotics, and optimisation techniques inspired by nature, such as genetic algorithms, ant colony optimisation, particle swarm optimisation and many others. All of these belonged to the larger story of AI: the attempt to make machines perform tasks that normally require human intelligence. But after ChatGPT became a global sensation, the popular meaning of AI changed. For many people, “AI” now
May 12, 2026 · via news.utm.my
—Amaliya Kartika Putri, LL.M in Law and Technology from Utrecht University, focusing on GDPR, AI regulation, and fundamental rights in emerging technologies The European Union has adopted modern surveillance technology, including drone monitoring and facial recognition technology (FRT) to enhance border security. These technologies raise fundamental rights issues, yet they also have the potential to identify travelers efficiently and detect unauthorized crossings. As to the former point, EU law and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) protect among others fundamental rights to non-discrimination and private life. The Glukhin v. Russia (2023) ECtHR judgment confirms that the implementation of random facial recognition infringes upon privacy protections. Moreover, Murray and other scholars warn that the extensive deployment of facial recognition technology may result in the creation of a “pervasive surveillance state” which would limit personal conduct and threaten democratic institutions. In this blog post I will investigate the impact of drone surveillance and facial recognition technology on privacy and equality rights at EU external borders. The analysis includes an examination of the current legal framework which includes the ECHR, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the GDPR, and the AI Act. Although these instruments offer a crucial basis for safeguarding fundamental rights, this blog argues that more legal clarification and robust protections are required in order to address the intrusive and discriminatory risks presented by these emerging technologies. Surveillance Technologies at the EU Border The technology of facial recognition systems and unmanned aerial drones has transitioned from science fiction to reality at European borders. The EU, together with its Member States, has established pilot programs and systems to automate border control operations through these technological tools. The Horizon 2020 iBorderCtrl project implemented a system that used facial scans, together with “biomarkers of deceit” to analyze micro-expressions for detecting deception in travelers.
May 12, 2026 · via iconnectblog.com
FTC reminds tech platforms of deadline to comply with Take It Down Act The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is warning major technology companies that they must comply with the Take It Down Act (TIDA) by May 19, when covered platforms are required to have systems in place for removing nonconsensual intimate images from their services. Signed into law on May 19, 2025, TIDA is designed to combat non-consensual intimate imagery, including AI-generated deepfakes. It criminalizes the publication of these images, requires platforms to remove them within 48 hours, and provides victims a legal pathway for removal. FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson sent letters to more than a dozen companies, including Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Automattic, Bumble, Discord, Match Group, Meta, Microsoft, Pinterest, Reddit, SmugMug, Snapchat, TikTok, and X. The letters outline the law’s definitions, compliance obligations, and penalties for violations. TIDA requires covered platforms to provide clear and conspicuous notice of a removal process for victims, including children, whose intimate photos or videos were shared without consent. Platforms must remove the reported content, along with identical copies, within 48 hours after receiving a valid request. The law applies broadly to online services such as social media, messaging, image and video sharing, and gaming platforms, placing responsibility on companies that host or distribute user-generated content. Ferguson said the FTC is prepared to monitor compliance, investigate violations, and enforce the law, framing the measure as part of the agency’s effort to protect children and other victims from online abuse. “We stand ready to monitor compliance, investigate violations, and enforce the Take It Down Act,” said Ferguson. “Protecting the vulnerable – especially children—from this harmful abuse is a top priority for this agency and this administration. The Trump-Vance FTC is grateful for the First Lady’s leadership on the Take It Down Act and on
May 12, 2026 · via biometricupdate.com
Bunnings is set to expand its automotive range in New Zealand by roughly 20%, encroaching on industry stalwarts. The hardware retailer, owned by ASX-listed Wesfarmers, has been operating in New Zealand for 25 years. Last year it reported revenue of $1.74 billion, with a net profit of $69 million forthe year. Bunnings NZ first launched into auto products such as oils and washes in March last year but now it’s making a bigger push off the back of what it sees as growing demand. “We’ve got five million registered vehicles in New Zealand, and a lot of Kiwis are very passionate about maintaining their vehicles,” says Melissa Haines, Bunnings NZ general manager. “When times are tough for the cost of living, having a really convenient offer where you’re normally shopping, that’s of value. “The expansion of product categories is just about how Kiwis are changing. From the front gate to the back fence is how we think about the range in Bunnings.” The business is set to add another 300 products in its auto range from several new brands, taking the total to roughly 1000 products. Haines hinted this would include more automotive tools, towing and recovery gear, lighting and car technology and some marine products for boat cleaning, with more in-store bays dedicated to the category. The auto category in New Zealand already has several competitors but is dominated by Repco (owned by US-based Genuine Parts Company) and Supercheap Auto (owned by Australian company Super Retail Group). In its last full-year financial result, Genuine Parts Company reported total revenue of $568.5m and a profit of $26.9m for New Zealand, although this includes other businesses under its portfolio so the amount earned specifically by Repco is unknown. As for Supercheap Auto, it reported total New Zealand revenue of $191.5m and
May 11, 2026 · via nzherald.co.nz
Estates, gated communities and office parks face sweeping changes to security procedures as the Information Regulator calls for access-controlled areas to collect minimal visitor information and protect privacy.
The regulator has now published the “Own-Initiative Code of Conduct for Gated Access Areas” that will govern how gated-access environments handle personal information to conform to the prescripts of the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia).
The code applies to residential and commercial premises with access control. It is not a guidance note but a code of conduct, which carries much heftier weight than the former.
The regulator in the code of conduct says members of the public have raised concerns that the collection of personal information at gated access entry points is excessive.
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May 11, 2026 · via sowetan.co.za
ICE Plans to Deploy 1,570 Additional Iris Scanners Nationwide Under No-Bid Contract Federal records show the agency is purchasing expanded access to a private biometric database built largely through sheriff partnerships. The Department of Homeland Security plans to deploy 1,570 iris scanning devices to Immigration and Customs Enforcement locations across the country within 30 days of finalizing a no-bid contract with the Massachusetts technology company Bi2 Technologies, according to a Statement of Objectives posted to SAM.gov on May 8. The proposed sole-source contract would give ICE agents the ability to scan a person’s iris using a smartphone and compare the result against a database containing more than five million criminal booking records. According to the procurement document, the system is designed to return matches in real time during field operations. The May procurement appears to expand an existing ICE-Bi2 capability rather than create it from scratch. Federal spending records show DHS awarded Bi2 a $4.6 million contract in September 2025 for iris biometric recognition technology and access to a biometric information system. That earlier award required Bi2 to provide 200 biometric devices. The new Statement of Objectives calls for 1,570 devices, suggesting ICE is seeking to scale up the system’s physical deployment while maintaining nationwide access to Bi2’s IRIS and MORIS tools. What Iris Scanning Is, and How It Works Biometric identification uses a physical characteristic of the body to confirm a person’s identity. Fingerprints are the most familiar example. Facial recognition, which compares photographs against databases of known images, has become increasingly common in law enforcement over the past decade. Iris recognition works on the same principle, but analyzes the colored ring surrounding the pupil of the eye. Bi2 Technologies describes the iris as “the most anatomically unique biometric visible on the human body” and says its IRIS system
May 11, 2026 · via projectsaltbox.com
Codebreaker #30 — a new week, two new codes, same six tries.
Here's a quick refresher if you need it: If you love Wordle, Connections, or any daily puzzle, Codebreaker is your new obsession. It's a daily logic game where you get 6 attempts to crack a secret 5-digit code. After each guess, you'll find out which digits are correct and in the right spot, which are in the code but in the wrong place, and which aren't in the code at all. Solve the first puzzle, and a harder bonus code unlocks. Two puzzles. One daily session. It sounds simple. It is not simple.
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May 11, 2026 · via buzzfeed.com
Figures Abstract Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) require a larger amount of input samples and computing resources to learn discriminative features for accurate identification of multiple retinal conditions, making the development and deployment of such models challenging on limited computing resources. This study presents a robust CNN (called LiteFeatNet) that requires fewer trainable parameters, computational resources, and processing time for accurate prediction. To enhance robustness and reduce computational time, a pre-trained NASNetMobile backbone is employed, and a method for time-efficient discriminative feature extraction from deep intermediate layers is proposed. The extracted features are refined using a spatially-aware feature map reduction module and classified using a custom classification module with fewer number of trainable parameters, reduced computational resource requirements, and computational time. Experiments are conducted using 1824 images from three distinct class labels in the Retinal Fundus Multi-Disease Image Dataset (RFMiD), with a 60:20:20 train-validation-test split. The LiteFeatNet architecture has a compact size (19.87 MB) and was trained using a standard pre-processing pipeline and training configurations. It outperformed twelve state-of-the-art models, achieving the highest testing accuracy of 90.33%, precision of 90.69%, recall of 90.33%, and F1-score of 90.27%, with a fast, impressive inference time of 4 milliseconds per image. Further, a generalizability study was also conducted using an external dataset, RFMiD 2.0, and the LiteFeatNet achieved competitive performance with quicker testing time compared to other architectures. To evaluate the scalability and adaptability of our proposed integrated framework for larger multi-class problems, we assessed the scalability by increasing class label complexity using two additional disease categories. Results validated the effectiveness and computational efficiency of this integrated framework compared with 9 baseline architectures. An ablation study was also conducted using the LiteFeatNet and two top-performing transfer learning architectures to validate that the synergistic combination of deep feature extraction and feature map refinement is the
May 11, 2026 · via journals.plos.org
Dr. Harshil Dave, a research scientist in the Optical Sciences Division of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, demonstrates to Christian Tofteroo how beam shaping can increase the effective range of laser weapon systems during the Department of War’s annual Lab Day at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, May 6, 2026. (U.S. Army photo by Bernardo Fuller) (This photo was altered for security purposes by blurring out identification badges.)
| Date Taken: | 05.06.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 05.11.2026 10:24 |
| Photo ID: | 9675791 |
| VIRIN: | 260506-A-AJ780-1007 |
| Resolution: | 7791x5194 |
| Size: | 9.39 MB |
| Location: | ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 6 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Pentagon Lab Day [Image 23 of 23], by Bernardo Fuller, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
May 11, 2026 · via dvidshub.net
bygenesys@genesys
13-year engineer shipping production ML and computer-vision systems with AI coding agents.
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13-year engineer shipping production ML and computer-vision systems with AI coding agents.
13-year engineer shipping production ML and computer-vision systems with AI coding agents.
13-year engineer shipping production ML and computer-vision systems with AI coding agents.
May 11, 2026 · via hackernoon.com
Image by Oselote - Getty Images Using traffic cameras for mass surveillance concept image It is no surprise that Milwaukee is in the midst of a surveillance crisis. It was clear through the year-long push against Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) with the City and County, that residents don’t want to be surveilled by law enforcement and military contractors through weird public/private business relationships. What we are hearing about FLOCK is more of the same. FLOCK is an Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) system that Milwaukee’s Police and Sheriff Departments currently use to surveil us. This week, the City of Appleton voted to end their usage of Flock. Just this month, Oshkosh and Sturgeon Bay refused to renew their contracts. Verona will end theirs also. Dane County will terminate its contract in May, and the City of Madison has ordinances protecting their residents from ALPRs being deployed. They’re doing this for many reasons. First and foremost, there are no guardrails that can guarantee our safety, nor meaningful arguments for such invasive, large-scale surveillance that feeds into an already expansive web of digital stalking. ICE and other federal agencies have been shown to directly or sneakily access this information from law enforcement agencies all across the country. It Goes On and On My Friends… Right now, there is a web of over 92,000 FLOCK cameras and counting across the nation. This creates a dragnet surveillance of all people whether or not they are suspected of a crime or wanted for any particular reason. What many don’t realize is that the cameras pick up everything in the range of their view. Not just license plates. They use AI to hone-in on the licenses, but everything is covered. This has been shown extensively and regardless of the data accessible through the agreement with the
May 11, 2026 · via shepherdexpress.com
As expected, Sony Music Publishing has announced an agreement to acquire the complete music rights portfolio of Recognition Music Group from funds managed by Blackstone, subject to customary closing conditions. Terms of the deal were not announced, but sources and Billboard have valued the catalog in the $2 billion range, although estimates vary widely. The deal will see Sony Music Publishing acquiring Recognition’s entire catalog of works, which includes shares in more than 45,000 songs, among them Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Under the Bridge,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way,” Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven,” Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” Chic’s “Good Times,” Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun,” Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer,” Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This),” Shakira’s “Whenever, Wherever,” Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love” and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” among many others. Popular on Variety The deal is in partnership with the investment venture announced earlier this year between GIC and Sony Music Group, focused on acquiring music catalog assets across genres and international markets. The transaction follows Sony Music Publishing’s previous acquisition of Hipgnosis Songs Group in 2025, reflecting its continued collaboration with Recognition and Blackstone. Beginning in the mid-2010s, companies under the Hipgnosis umbrella went on a buying spree, paying top dollar for catalogs and other assets, including many of the above-listed songs. It spent more than $3 billiion and drove up the value of music catalogs considerably. However, the company became unstable and beginning in 2021, Blackstone acquired Hipgnosis Songs Capital for around $800 million, then bought the administration division of Hipgnosis Songs Management, before acquiring the publicly traded catalog assets of Hipgnosis Songs Fund for $1.6 billion in April 2024 Rob
May 11, 2026 · via variety.com
How hundreds of mysterious Nasca lines have been uncovered—with the help of AI A century ago, scientists began to study enigmatic Nasca geoglyphs in Peru. Thanks to AI, the known number has nearly doubled, and these discoveries are providing new insights into what their messages meant. The discovery of geoglyphs in southern Peru has been supercharged by artificial intelligence (AI). In just six months, more than 300 new figures were identified, almost doubling the previously known number. Etched into the desert, the relief-type glyphs depict domesticated animals, anthropomorphic figures, and human heads. A team from Yamagata University’s Nasca Institute, led by archaeologist Masato Sakai and backed by the IBM Research center, trained an object-detection AI model with high-resolution imagery to refine their investigation into the distribution of geoglyphs in the Nasca desert. The newly identified glyphs are relatively small, and may have fulfilled roles quite different from those of the vast, sprawling geoglyphs that the Nasca desert is best known for. The latest findings are not only a striking addition to the catalog but also a vital aid in helping reveal part of the mystery surrounding these enigmatic designs. (Where should archaeologists dig next? The winners of this OpenAI contest can tell them.) A game changer The Nasca Lines are massive geoglyphs of animals, people, plants, and geometric designs that adorn the high desert of southern Peru. Examples of note include the famous depictions of a hummingbird, a spider, and a monkey with a long, spiraling tail. Thought to date to as early as 100 B.C., the well-known giant figurative geoglyphs average almost 300 feet in length, with some recognizable even from ground level. The latest discoveries are thought to date to roughly the same period and are, by contrast, about 30 feet in size, harder to detect, and tucked
May 11, 2026 · via nationalgeographic.com
Zhipu GLM-5V-Turbo sparks a "misfire," and the war of domestic multimodal agents is on the verge of breaking out. In the fierce competition among domestic large models, Zhipu's GLM series has always held a trump card of great commercial value: extremely strong coding ability. As the main form of AI shifts from large language models to agents, the industry competition has entered the second half. Developers and development ecosystems are the groups with the strongest willingness to pay. However, the expectations of industry giants for AI are obviously not limited to an "outsourced programmer." Only by becoming an all - around agent that can truly take over the system workflow can AI enter the lives of ordinary people. Therefore, a powerful AI is far from enough just by typing on the keyboard. It must have "eyes" to examine web page layouts, understand posters and charts, and even comprehend various non - text complex information on the GUI. A few days ago, DeepSeek's gray - scale test of the "image recognition mode" fired the first shot. Now, Zhipu is also closely following and officially launching a new exploration in the multimodal field. In the technical report of the latest model GLM - 5V - Turbo, we can clearly see that this is Zhipu's new charge towards the native multimodal agent, and also a confession full of technological brute force, engineering compromises, and business considerations. 01 The Violent Aesthetics and Micro - operation Art of the Visual Foundation The idea of adding visual capabilities to large language models has been frequently attempted in the past few years. However, the resulting visual language models (VLM) are often just spliced products. The language model is the absolute "brain," and the visual module is just an external camera. That is to say, the model simply
May 11, 2026 · via eu.36kr.com
Sony Semiconductor Solutions and TSMC have signed a preliminary agreement to form a strategic partnership for the development and manufacturing of next-generation image sensors. The move could mark a major shift in the future of imaging, as Sony aims to combine its sensor design leadership with TSMC’s process technology and manufacturing expertise. The target is clear. Future image sensors will need to serve cameras, smartphones, cars, robots, and AI-driven machines that rely on vision as their primary sensing tool. TSMC’s manufacturing expertise could help Sony push more advanced stacked sensor designs, faster readout circuits, improved efficiency, and more sophisticated processing layers. This does not mean that a specific Alpha, FX, VENICE, or smartphone camera is around the corner. The agreement is still preliminary. However, it signals where Sony believes the image sensor industry is heading. A new joint venture in Japan According to the announcement, Sony Semiconductor Solutions and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to establish a joint venture. Sony is expected to be the majority and controlling shareholder. The JV would set up development and production lines inside Sony’s newly constructed fab in Koshi City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. That detail is important. This is a Sony-led image sensor initiative, with TSMC joining as a strategic manufacturing and process technology partner. Sony remains in control of the sensor business direction, while TSMC contributes the semiconductor manufacturing capabilities that are becoming increasingly critical for advanced sensing architectures. The companies are also discussing potential investments by the JV, along with additional capital investment by Sony in its existing plant in Nagasaki. These investments are expected to be implemented in phases, based on market demand and Japanese government support. Image sensors are becoming semiconductor platforms For decades, image sensor progress was mostly discussed through familiar terms such
May 11, 2026 · via ymcinema.com