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In the current era when precision equipment such AS drones and robots have increasingly strict requirements for environmental perception, SONY’s newly launched AS-DT1 lidar depth sensor, with its world’s smallest and lightest miniaturized design, redefines the perception boundaries of mobile devices.
dToF (Direct Time of Flight) – Through single-photon-level sensitivity and nanosecond-level time measurement, it achieves centimeter-level accuracy and strong anti-interference capability in complex environments, completely breaking through the performance bottleneck of traditional Indirect Time of Flight (iToF) technology in long-distance and low-reflectivity scenarios.
Behind this choice lies SONY precise response to high-precision demands such as obstacle avoidance and industrial inspection by drones, and it also reveals a key breakthrough for dToF technology to move from the laboratory to large-scale commercial use.
I. Precision and Anti-interference: The “Inherent Advantages” of dToF
dToF calculates distance by directly measuring the time of flight (ToF) of photons. Its core component, the SPAD sensor, can capture individual photons and, in combination with time-dependent single photon counting (TCSPC) technology, construct a photon arrival time histogram, thereby accurately estimating the distance to the target. Just for the SONY AS-DT1 lidar, its ranging error is less than ±5 centimeters at a distance of 10 meters, and it can still maintain an effective ranging of 40 meters in outdoor strong light conditions. In contrast, the error of traditional iTOF may expand to more than ±10 centimeters under the same conditions.
This advantage stems from dToF’s ability to resist multi-path interference. iToF calculates distance through phase difference and is susceptible to interference from ambient light reflection, leading to signal aliasing. dToF can filter out invalid photons through statistical histograms and maintain a high signal-to-noise ratio even under direct sunlight.
Ii. Long-distance and Dynamic Tracking: Redefining Application Boundaries
The ranging accuracy of iToF is inversely proportional to the distance, and its accuracy drops significantly beyond 5 meters. In contrast, the accuracy of dToF is independent of distance and is more suitable for long-distance scenarios such as autonomous driving and robot navigation. The 40-meter outdoor ranging capability of SONY AS-DT1 makes it an ideal choice for drone obstacle avoidance and SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) of logistics robots.
Iii. Strong anti-interference ability: Fearless of strong light challenges
dToF is relatively insensitive to the interference of ambient light and can maintain stable measurement performance in complex environments.
Under strong outdoor light conditions, such as midday sunlight and reflected light, etc. These strong lights can interfere with the normal operation of the sensor, leading to inaccurate distance measurement or even failure. However, the SONY AS-DT1, which adopts dToF technology, can operate stably in a strong light environment of 100,000 lux with its outstanding ability to resist environmental light interference, ensuring that the drone can achieve precise obstacle avoidance under various lighting conditions.
However, the anti-interference ability of iToF is slightly inferior.
Iv. Power Consumption and Integration: “Perfect Fit” for Mobile Devices
iToF needs to continuously emit modulated light waves and receive reflected signals, resulting in relatively high power consumption. dToF, on the other hand, adopts pulsed emission and activates the laser only when necessary, effectively reducing power consumption.
In terms of integration, the SPAD sensor of dToF can be mixed and packaged with CMOS logic chips through 3D stacking technology, significantly reducing the module size. The miniaturized design of SONY’s AS-DT1 (with a size of only 25mm×25mm) enables it to be easily embedded in wearable devices such AS AR glasses and smartwatches, while traditional iToF sensors are difficult to achieve such applications due to size limitations.
V. Future Battlefield: The “Symbiotic Evolution” of dToF and iToF
dToF is not intended to replace iToF but rather to complement it.
Consumer electronics: dToF leads the 3D modeling and AR interaction of high-end devices, while iToF covers gesture recognition and face unlocking in the mid-to-low-end market.
Autonomous driving: dToF lidar (such AS SONY AS-DT1) is responsible for long-distance detection, while iToF cameras handle close-range details.
Industrial inspection: dToF is used for micron-level defect detection, and iTOF enables large-scale surface topography measurement.
SONY AS-DT1 lidar, with its ultimate potential in dToF technology, immediately captured industry attention upon its release in April 2025. Its first public appearance at the Shenzhen International Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Exhibition in the same year, with its lightweight and miniaturized body and strong light penetration power, conquered the entire venue, pushing the popularity of dToF to an unprecedented peak.
The SONY AS-DT1 lidar sensor is expected to hit the market in the spring of 2026. Let’s wait and see.
Summary
SONY AS-DT1 lidar sensor, dToF, is reshaping the 3D perception market with its three major advantages of “precision, low power consumption and long range”. For developers, this means a more realistic AR experience, safer autonomous driving, and smarter obstacle avoidance for drones and robots.