The MIPI CSI (News - Alert)-2 penetration is expected to surpass 70 percent in computing and consumer electronic devices with image sensors by 2016, according to In-Stat, an independent research agency.

“Proprietary interfaces prevent devices from different manufacturers from working together and result in industry fragmentation,” said Jim McGregor, chief technology strategist, in a statement.  

“MIPI’s CSI-2 and CSI-3 provide the entire electronics industry, not just mobile devices, with a standard that is high-speed, low-power, cost-effective, and scalable,” McGregor added.

Smartphones and handsets will account for the largest percentage and highest growth rate of CSI-2 and CSI-3 penetration. Game consoles are expected to be the primary use of image sensors (and cameras) in the living room, according to the report.

More than 225 million tablet PC image sensors are expected to ship using MIPI in 2016, with MIPI CSI-3 representing about 20 percent of these, while MIPI CSI-2 representing the remaining 80 percent.

Applications that directly manipulate image sensor data are forcing a migration of many devices away from using image sensors with integrated image signal processors (ISPs), the report said.

Increasing demand for higher image resolutions is pushing the bandwidth capacity of processor-to-camera sensor interfaces beyond their capability to perform effectively, In-Stat (News - Alert) said in its report called Camera Interfaces Go Serial – Handsets Leading the Way with MIPI.

Companies such as Agilent, Analog Devices, Aptina, Broadcom (News - Alert), Infineon, Intel, LG Electronics, Motorola, OmniVision, Qualcomm, Renesas, Samsung, Sharp, STM/ST-Ericsson, Synopsys, and Texas Instruments are contributing to the growth of MIPI CSI segment.

The MIPI Alliance, a non-profit corporation developing interface specifications, is driving consistency in processor and peripheral interfaces.  The initiatives of the association led to strong MIPI CSI-2 interest, across all computing and consumer electronic devices with an image sensor.

Earlier last year, MIPI Alliance announced the formation of a new Battery Interface working group that deals with issues like consumer safety, power management and counterfeit batteries.