STMicroelectronics (ST), a leading global semiconductor company that serves clients in a variety of electronics applications, recently announced ST Presence Gen 5, its fifth-generation Human Presence Detection (HPD) technology, at a virtual media briefing. The most recent version of ST’s turnkey solution marks a major advancement in protecting user privacy while improving security, power efficiency, and user engagement in personal computing devices, including laptops, monitors, tablets, webcams, and accessories.
The briefing included in-depth discussions from David Maucotel, Business-Line Director at the Imaging Sub-Group, assisted by Herve GROTARD (Subject Matter Expert on ST Presence) and Olivier LEMARCHAND (SME on AI-powered Human Presence Detection). The event provided a holistic view of the technology’s evolution, market relevance, and functional impact, concluding with live feature demonstrations and a technical walkthrough.
The outlook for the imaging market and ST’s strategic priorities
David Maucotel gave a thorough market analysis at the beginning of the session, referencing statistics from analysts at Yole Group who projected a compound annual growth rate of 4–5% for the image sensor market until 2029. Mobile, computer vision, and industrial applications are important growth areas. By 2030, 3D sensing is predicted to triple in revenue due to robots, indoor/outdoor navigation, and people monitoring.
In this trajectory, ST’s Imaging Sub-Group is essential. The company has naturally developed a diverse product range that targets laptops, PCs, industrial robotics, and car in-cabin monitoring, building on its prior capabilities in front-facing smartphone sensors and rear camera assistance. ST is currently a world leader in 3D depth sensing and camera modules thanks to its proprietary technologies, which include the well-known FlightSenseTM time-of-flight (ToF) sensors.
Engineering Excellence in ST’s Imaging Portfolio
The Imaging Sub-Group’s technical foundation is rooted in over 25 years of R&D, dating back to its acquisition of Vision Group in Scotland. From early success with Nokia to winning the CES Innovation Award in 2019, ST has continuously pushed the envelope in camera and ToF technologies. Its current portfolio includes:
- 3D Depth Sensing: Mastery of both indirect and direct time-of-flight sensors capable of generating from 2,000 to 500,000 points in a 3D environment.
- Direct ToF Modules: Compact modules with 64 to 256 zones, enabling accurate distance measurement up to 10 meters in multi-zone configurations.
- Optical Light Sensors (ALS): Ultra-small form-factor ambient light sensors for screen dimming and colour tone adjustments.
- 2D Global Shutter Cameras: Over one billion units shipped, with applications ranging from smartphones to face authentication and VR.
ST’s competitive edge lies in its ability to vertically integrate manufacturing, design, to production across its fabs in France and Singapore, assembly sites in Shenzhen and Calamba, and R&D hubs in Grenoble and Edinburgh.
ST Presence Gen 5: Turnkey, AI-Powered, Privacy-Centric
Herve Grotard introduced ST Presence Gen 5, ST’s flagship turnkey solution that integrates its multi-zone ToF sensor with proprietary AI algorithms to deliver advanced human sensing capabilities—without using a camera.
“At the core is an 8×8 time-of-flight ranging sensor that calculates real-time distance data using invisible infrared light,” said Grotard. “On top of this hardware, we’ve added a stack of AI and analytic algorithms to build privacy-respecting, low-power, real-time features.”
Key advantages include:
- Privacy: No images are captured; the system operates entirely on depth data.
- Power Efficiency: Consumes under 2 milliwatts, reducing CPU wakeups and enabling ultra-low power operation.
- Low Computational Overhead: Software optimized for small microcontrollers and sensor hubs, not requiring GPUs or high-performance CPUs.
Breakthrough Features in Gen 5
Olivier Lemarchand took the audience through each of the seven major features of ST Presence Gen 5, each enabled by a unique AI network or advanced analytics:
- Walk-Away Lock
Detects when a user leaves their PC and triggers automatic lock and sleep mode. Combines distance tracking, motion analytics, and an in-house “Presence AI” network to distinguish human presence from background objects. - Adaptive Dimming
A new feature that uses head orientation detection to reduce screen brightness when the user isn’t looking—improving power savings without compromising experience. “Achieving this with just 64 pixels of depth data is a technical marvel,” Lemarchand noted. - Wake-on-Attention
An upgrade from “Wake-on-Approach,” this feature wakes the device and triggers Windows Hello login only when the user is both near and visually engaged. It leverages two parallel AI networks: Body Posture and Head Orientation. - Multi-Person Detection (MPD)
Enhances on-screen privacy by identifying up to three individuals behind the primary user, issuing alerts when potential onlookers linger—a valuable security feature in public workspaces. - Hand Gesture Recognition
Introduces two new interaction modes: motion gestures (swipe, tap) and hand postures (like, dislike, love, flat hand), powered by a fourth, publicly available AI network accessible via ST’s Edge AI Suite. Developers can fine-tune or expand gesture sets and deploy them to STM32 microcontrollers. - User Posture Monitoring
As a proof-of-concept aimed at wellness, this feature detects poor seating postures and encourages users to adjust their position—addressing the growing health concerns of prolonged screen time. - Body Posture Detection
Supports features like Wake-on-Attention by ensuring the user is seated in a login-compatible posture. Also paves the way for ergonomic analytics in future workplace setups.
Real-World Impact: ESG, User Experience & AI Efficiency
Highlighting the environmental benefits, Grotard emphasized that ST Presence Gen 5 could reduce energy consumption by over 20% per PC per day. If deployed across ST’s own 50,000 employees, it could save 118 tons of CO₂ daily—equivalent to 120 transatlantic flights. At a global scale, this equates to the carbon footprint of 123,000 fully charged electric vehicles per day.
This combination of high-impact ESG outcomes, enhanced user convenience, and seamless privacy makes ST Presence Gen 5 a compelling choice for OEMs looking to differentiate on sustainability and user experience.
AI at the Edge, Built for Integration
What makes ST Presence particularly scalable is its minimal footprint. Despite running four AI networks, the solution is designed for low-resolution, edge-AI environments. All algorithms run on a sensor hub, with no need to activate the main CPU. This enables integration into any STM32-based microcontroller platform, reducing BOM cost and design complexity.
ST also offers a complete ecosystem—from sensor modules and microcontrollers to reference designs and evaluation kits—streamlining OEM adoption.
Closing Remarks
“This is all about delivering a smart, secure, and power-efficient user experience without compromising privacy,” Grotard concluded. “ST Presence Gen 5 is a testament to what’s possible when innovation in sensing, optics, and AI converge on the edge.”
With ST Presence Gen 5, STMicroelectronics reaffirms its leadership in smart sensing and edge AI—creating meaningful impact across personal computing, sustainability, and user wellness.
