Machine Vision & Force/Tactile Sensing

Aptiv said on August 25 that it will support NVIDIA's newly announced Jetson Orin Nano 2 processor, extending a partnership that already covers the more powerful Jetson Thor platform. The NVIDIA chip packs 78 TOPS of processing power into an 8GB, 8-core Arm design that doubles the inference speed of its predecessor while cutting power draw by 40% at equivalent performance. Aptiv is pairing the compute support with its PULSE surround-view camera and radar system for 360-degree sensing, its Gen 8 radar for object detection in tough conditions, and Wind River software for long-term maintenance and security updates. The move follows Aptiv's second-quarter results reported on August 4, 2026, when revenue reached $3.3 billion, up 2%, and adjusted EBITDA climbed to $613 million from $547 million a year earlier, lifting margins to 18.7% from 17.1%. Free cash flow, however, came in at just $12 million for the quarter, down from $219 million a year earlier, and the first half of 2026 posted negative free cash flow of $196 million versus a positive $264 million a year ago, while hedge fund ownership fell from 53 funds to 42 quarter over quarter and short interest sits at 7.05% of float.

STMicroelectronics has introduced the ST SafeSense VD56GA, a new 1.1 MP automotive image sensor for infrared in-cabin sensing designed to help OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers scale driver and occupant monitoring across vehicle lines while balancing performance, integration, and cost. The sensor delivers 35% higher modulation transfer function sharpness and nearly 60% higher quantum efficiency than the previous generation, making it currently the only sensor in its class to achieve this level of combined optical resolution and infrared sensitivity. Housed in a compact 3.7 mm x 3.2 mm CSP package, the VD56GA integrates embedded image-processing functions including mirror, crop, dark calibration, auto exposure, and piecewise-linear processing, removing the need for external image-processing resources. Alexandre Balmefrezol, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Imaging Sub-Group at STMicroelectronics, said the sensor focuses on system-level tradeoffs that matter most, with front-end manufacturing in Crolles, France, providing supply-chain resilience. Anas Chalak, Market and Technology Analyst for Imaging at Yole Group, noted that volumes for driver and occupant monitoring systems are set to exceed 70 million units by 2031. Samples are available now, with pricing information and sample requests available from local ST sales offices.

Haon Electric released its 2026 half-year report, showing net profit attributable to the parent of 30.9 million yuan in the first half, down 34.1% year on year. Operating revenue was 1.186 billion yuan, up 47.3% year on year. Net profit attributable to the parent after deducting non-recurring items was 24.88 million yuan, down 39.7% year on year. Net operating cash flow was 96.8 million yuan, up 266.3% year on year. Earnings per share were 0.3302 yuan. In the second quarter, operating revenue was 654 million yuan, up 56.2% year on year, while net profit attributable to the parent was 15.27 million yuan, down 46.3% year on year. As of the end of the second quarter, total assets were 4.184 billion yuan, up 41.9% from the end of the previous year, and net assets attributable to the parent were 2.397 billion yuan, up 75.9%. The company focuses on intelligent driving, robotics, and the low-altitude economy. Automotive intelligent driving perception systems are its core segment. Robot perception products have entered mass production and delivery, and the low-altitude economy business continues to expand. The robotics business is expected to become a future growth engine.

AVIC Chengfei said at its earnings briefing on August 24 that the robotics business of its subsidiary Xi'an Electrical Measurement achieved rapid growth in the first half of the year, with orders up year-on-year. Xi'an Electrical Measurement has full-stack technology for robot sensors and core sensitive components such as resistance strain gauges, and owns core products including six-axis force sensors, joint torque sensors, and tension and compression sensors. However, this business still contributes relatively little to the company's overall performance, and the company reminded investors to view it rationally.

Jiuding Investment disclosed its 2026 semi-annual report. In the first half of the year, it achieved operating revenue of 59.8901 million yuan, down 25.48 percent year on year, while net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was negative 88.1507 million yuan, with the loss widening 85.39 percent year on year. The company divided its main business into two segments for the first time: traditional business and new business. The new business focuses on technology manufacturing and investment centred on core components for humanoid robots. In February this year, Jiuding Investment completed the acquisition of and a capital increase in Nanjing Shenyuansheng, taking a stake of about 53.3 percent and consolidating it into its financial statements. Nanjing Shenyuansheng focuses on six-axis force sensors. As of the end of the first half, its orders in hand were about 6 million yuan, but the new business recorded a net loss attributable to shareholders of the listed company of 3.1415 million yuan in the first half. The company also added a joint module business, jointly investing with Nanjing Shenyuansheng to establish Changzhou Shendong Robot Technology Company Limited. An assembly plant with planned annual capacity of 300,000 integrated joint modules is under construction. Small-batch trial production began in August 2026, and the plant is expected to be formally completed and put into production by the end of the third quarter of 2026. In addition, in March this year Jiuding Investment completed a strategic investment in Beijing Lingzu Shidai Technology Company Limited, taking a 19.8 percent stake. Lingzu Shidai focuses on the research, development and design of robot joint modules. In traditional business, the private equity investment management business will be gradually scaled back, and the real estate development business will be gradually exited. The construction business achieved operating revenue of 28.75 million yuan in the first half, up 346.15 percent year on year, accounting for 48.1 percent of the total. As of the report disclosure date, the company had signed 15 new project contracts this year, with a total contract value of 757 million yuan. Because the lower of total profit, net profit or net profit excluding non-recurring items for the audited 2025 fiscal year was negative, and operating revenue after deducting revenue unrelated to the main business and revenue lacking commercial substance was below 300 million yuan, the company's shares were placed under delisting risk warning, and the stock abbreviation was changed from Jiuding Investment to ST Jiuding. The company's main tasks for 2026 are to resolve the delisting risk and build a second growth curve in the humanoid robot business. Achieving full-year revenue of more than 300 million yuan is an important target the company needs to meet.

Hi-Target released its 2026 half-year report. Affected by policy adjustments in some domestic industries and the proactive scaling back of its spatiotemporal data business, both revenue and net profit declined. During the reporting period, the company achieved operating revenue of 350 million yuan, down 29.07 percent year on year. Net loss attributable to the parent company was 43 million yuan, with the loss widening by 81.29 percent year on year. Net loss after deducting non-recurring items was 60 million yuan, with the loss widening by 21.01 percent. Net cash flow from operating activities was negative 7 million yuan, a significant narrowing of 95.15 percent compared with the same period last year. Overseas business performed impressively, with operating revenue of 93.2627 million yuan, up 29.24 percent year on year. Smart driving business revenue grew about 44 percent year on year. The company successfully secured a designated project from SAIC General Motors and won a bid for a humanoid robot posture control sensor project from a leading new energy vehicle maker.

Sony Group Corp. and TSMC have agreed to a $4.69 billion joint venture to research and produce next-generation image sensors in Japan. Sony will hold a majority interest and contribute approximately $2.92 billion in cash and assets, including its new chip facility in Kumamoto, while TSMC will contribute around $1.77 billion. The project, named Advanced Vision Semiconductor Manufacturing, is expected to begin volume production in 2029, with Sony handling sensor development, product planning, and design, and TSMC providing advanced manufacturing technologies. The venture targets growing demand for image sensors in smartphones, automobiles, robotics, and other systems, and the companies anticipate government backing in Japan to help fund the capacity.

Ambarella shares have drawn attention following reports that NXP Semiconductors is in talks to acquire the company. The stock last closed at $86.00, which is 27.2% below a widely followed narrative fair value of $118.20, while a separate discounted cash flow model suggests a fair value of $92.26, implying a narrower 6.8% undervaluation. Ambarella has posted a 20.2% share price return over the past 90 days and a 34.9% total shareholder return over one year, though its five-year total shareholder return remains down 16.3%. The bullish narrative hinges on Ambarella's expanding role in edge AI verticals such as portable video, robotics, and edge infrastructure, but risks include concentrated revenue exposure and intense competition in edge AI chips.

Shitou Shares has suffered four consecutive days of declines after its major asset restructuring plan received regulatory approval, with the cumulative weekly drop exceeding 30 percent. On the evening of July 24, the company announced that the Shanghai Stock Exchange's restructuring committee had approved its plan to acquire a 97.4399 percent stake in Lipu Technology through a combination of share issuance and cash payment, along with a related fundraising effort. Lipu Technology is a national-level specialized and sophisticated little giant enterprise focused on machine vision industrial inspection. Shitou Shares' stock price began falling on July 27, hit the daily limit down on July 28 and 29, and continued to plunge as of the morning close on July 30. The company issued a trading volatility announcement stating that its production and operations are normal, while noting that its net profit attributable to the parent company for 2025 was a loss of 21.8456 million yuan, and for the first quarter of 2026 it was a profit of 526,300 yuan. It also cautioned that the restructuring still requires registration approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and uncertainties remain.

Microchip Technology announced a definitive agreement to acquire Hailo, a provider of accelerated edge AI processors, vision processing solutions, and robotics processors. The deal, expected to close in the current quarter, will expand Microchip's processing portfolio beyond microcontrollers, microprocessors, and FPGAs into compute-intensive AI workloads for robots, drones, smart cameras, and industrial automation. Hailo brings more than 100 existing customers and a developer community exceeding 10,000 users, complementing Microchip's Total System Solutions strategy and its growing AI development-tool portfolio. The acquisition aligns with Microchip's strategic focus on AI at the edge, one of five business pillars under its recent organizational realignment, and aims to reduce dependence on cyclical traditional embedded semiconductor markets.

Lionhead Share's issuance of shares and cash payment for asset acquisition, along with the raising of matching funds and related-party transactions, has been approved at the 13th review meeting of the Shanghai Stock Exchange's M&A and Restructuring Review Committee in 2026. The company plans to acquire 97.4399 percent of Hangzhou Liper Technology Co., Ltd. for 662 million yuan, while raising matching funds of 220 million yuan. Liper Technology is a national high-tech enterprise and a national-level specialized and sophisticated 'little giant' company, focusing on the machine vision sector. In 2025, it achieved a net profit of 34.1035 million yuan under performance commitments, with committed net profits for 2026 and 2027 of no less than 46 million yuan and 62 million yuan, respectively. The restructuring plan has also undergone multiple optimizations and adjustments, including reducing the matching fund size from 240 million yuan to 220 million yuan, adding a second-phase accounts receivable compensation mechanism, and extending the lock-up period for performance commitment parties' shares. After this restructuring, Lionhead Share will form a dual-core business development pattern of 'e-commerce services plus machine vision,' entering the high-end intelligent manufacturing track. This transaction still requires registration approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission before implementation.

Orbbec has decided to use part of the raised funds, 117 million yuan, to increase capital in its wholly-owned subsidiary Shunde Orbbec, in order to implement the AI Vision Sensor and Intelligent Hardware Manufacturing Base Construction Project. After the capital increase, Shunde Orbbec's registered capital will rise from 100 million yuan to 217 million yuan, and it will remain a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. This capital increase aims to promote the implementation of the fundraising project, in line with the company's overall strategic planning and long-term development.

Shitou Shares has released a restructuring draft for review, planning to acquire 97.4399% of Hangzhou Liper Technology Co., Ltd. through a combination of share issuance and cash payment. The transaction price is 662 million yuan, with 465 million yuan paid in shares at an issuance price of 6.08 yuan per share. The company also plans to issue shares to Chongqing Yiyuan and Chongqing Yicheng to raise supporting funds of 220 million yuan, at an issuance price of 6.69 yuan per share. The company recently received an opinion implementation letter from the Shanghai Stock Exchange review center. The project was accepted in September 2025, underwent two suspensions, and resumed review on July 10. Meanwhile, the plan has been optimized in several ways, including reducing the supporting fundraising from 240 million yuan to 220 million yuan, adding a second-phase accounts receivable recovery compensation mechanism, extending the lock-up period for performance commitment parties' shares, and Liper Technology's actual controller Wang Xulongqi committing to extend his tenure to 48 months after the performance commitment period expires. The performance commitment parties promise that the target company's net profit from 2025 to 2027 will be no less than 33 million yuan, 46 million yuan, and 62 million yuan, respectively. The net profit achieved in 2025 was 34.1035 million yuan, exceeding the year's commitment, so that year will not be included in the cumulative assessment, and the basis for calculating excess performance rewards will be adjusted to the cumulative excess over the latter two years. Liper Technology is mainly engaged in machine vision technology products and solutions, mastering core technologies such as classic industrial machine vision algorithms and AI algorithms. Prior to this transaction, Shitou Shares was mainly engaged in e-commerce services through its controlling subsidiaries. After the transaction, it will enter the machine vision field and create a second growth curve.