Apple-Supported Image Enhancement Chip

Amiel and Eitan Gorbonos, twin brothers and Technion students, have developed a proof of concept for an innovative chip for image enhancement. The project, conducted in the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was supported by Apple.

Their chip is designed to filter image noise, removing graininess from photos. In the images below, one can see the dramatic improvement in image quality — from left (raw image) to right (the image after filtering image noise).

In recent years, Apple has funded student projects in the VLSI (very large-scale integration) lab in the Faculty, aiming to provide students with the opportunity to experience the industry process from concept to design, and testing the physical chip after production. This was the first product produced in the lab using the TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.) 65mm process — technology employing both copper interconnects and low-k dielectrics for manufacturing nanometric chips.

Dalia Haim, a director in the silicon group at Apple Israel, explained that Apple’s involvement is intended to expose students to the vast potential in the hardware field and thus develop the next generation of chip engineers. Students participating in these projects receive personal guidance from Apple engineers, and upon completing the design phase, Apple funds the chip’s production in relevant factories. After production, the chips are returned to the lab, and students test them and their performance.

This gives them experience working in a development team similar to the reality in the high-tech industry. Apple is one of many companies that partner with the Technion to develop new innovations.