Man, this will be a life saver in the future. Can you imagine driving in the dark and see as if it were day?




Canon has announced the creation of a new imaging sensor that is is able to take high-resolution, color photographs even in almost total darkness. Though you might think this will be a boon to astrophotographers, the technology will actually be aimed at more commercial fields before it arrives in a future version of the EOS Ra, if that ever happens. Its "night vision" capabilities make it a natural fit for industries such as surveillance, Augmented Reality (AR), automation, and self-driving cars. Canon says the new sensors will begin mass production in 2022.
The new type of image sensor is called a SPAD (single photon avalanche diode), according to a report from Nikkei Asia. It differs from a tradition sensor in that instead of examining the number of photons each pixel in the sensor can detect over a period of time, it's able to multiply the effects of sensing just a single photon, which is why it's referred to as an "avalanche." As Gizmodo notes, this cascading effect allows the sensor to amplify the effects of the detected photos, giving it over 10 times the sensitivity to light than a traditional sensor, making it possible to truly "see in the dark.

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/329607-canon-develops-new-sensor-that-takes-color-photos-in-almost-total-darkness