Shout for instant call, intelligently recognize baby crying in dreams and unusual smoke in the kitchen, and provide real-time voice warning that "the kitchen stove has been continuously on for 20 minutes"... Recently, many leading companies have deeply integrated AI models and continuously promoted the iteration and innovation of intelligent camera products. More and more intelligent products that can talk and think are beginning to enter people's lives. The industry believes that while the smart camera industry is rapidly developing, it still faces challenges in technology, market, security, cost, and other aspects. It requires multi-party collaboration to achieve breakthroughs in order to achieve a leap from "basic intelligence" to "advanced intelligence". The technological upgrade promotes the deep integration of 5G, low power consumption, AI (artificial intelligence) and other technologies, bringing unprecedented changes to the intelligent camera industry. Recently, leading companies have been deeply integrating AI models and continuously promoting iterative innovation in intelligent camera products. On April 28th, the new body intelligent camera of the puffin, the Sparrow Egg Max, went on sale. It is integrated with an AI large model and equipped with the puffin's self-developed AI intelligent language engine, which integrates "vision+hearing+interaction" into one. It can intelligently recognize voice commands, can see, understand, and execute them. In addition, in addition to being equipped with a C-bit audio and visual tracking system and supporting 360 degree infinite tracking, with the support of the HarmonyOS ecosystem, Quedan Max can also be "frequently used and updated" through software upgrades. On June 11th, at the 2025 Volcano Engine Powertrain Conference Spring Summit, Yoosee, as a strategic partner of Volcano Engine, unveiled its first AI intelligent camera equipped with a big bean bun model. In the view of the product manager at Yoosee, "the cold monitoring logic has been eliminated by the times, and what users need is a security partner who can talk and think." The Yoosee AI camera, through multi-modal analysis of the bean bun model, can automatically recognize abnormal behaviors such as strangers wandering or elderly people falling, and can provide real-time voice warnings, indicating that "the kitchen stove has been continuously on for 20 minutes. On July 1st, the fluorite C6c Ultra camera was upgraded again. With the support of "10 million ultra-high pixels+multiple AI algorithms", it can quickly identify situations such as crying in babies' dreams and abnormal smoke in the kitchen and issue alerts. Currently, the technological upgrades of smart camera products are mostly focused on core dimensions such as multi view imaging, pixel accuracy, two-way communication, and AI algorithms. The growth momentum of the global market is still driven by product iteration and innovation. ”Zhao Siquan, senior analyst of IDC China, said, "From the perspective of the industry development trend, the deep integration of camera products and other security equipment has become inevitable. All kinds of equipment form synergy in functional complementation, and jointly build a more perfect smart home security ecosystem through technology integration and scenario linkage." It is reported that many head security manufacturers have created exclusive industry models, such as Haikang's Guanlan model, Dahua Xinghan model, and Yushi wutong model. In addition, with the advancement of intelligent driving technology from L2 (assisted driving) to L3 (conditional autonomous driving) and even L4 (highly autonomous driving), the accuracy and breadth of environmental perception requirements for cars have reached unprecedented heights. As the core component of the perception layer, the onboard camera naturally shows a trend of simultaneous upgrading in both quantity and performance. As the core component of the perception layer, the number of vehicle mounted cameras has increased from less than 5 to over 11. The performance of front view, surround view, side view and other cameras continues to iterate, promoting the improvement of visual perception accuracy and reliability. ”Guojin Securities stated in a research report that an 8-megapixel high-resolution camera combined with HDR high dynamic range technology has gradually become the mainstream configuration of new energy vehicles, significantly improving visual perception accuracy under complex lighting conditions. From the perspective of the industrial chain, the upstream of the intelligent camera industry includes components and raw materials, mainly optical lenses, chips, sensors, motors, etc; The midstream of the industrial chain is the production of intelligent cameras; The downstream of the industrial chain includes application fields such as automobiles, mobile phones, home furnishings, and security equipment. According to International Data Corporation (IDC) data, in the first quarter of 2025, the Chinese consumer grade smart camera market shipped 12.08 million units, a year-on-year increase of 6.2%. Fluorite continues to lead the shipment volume with a market share of 25.6%; Xiaomi's camera market share increased by 1.2% compared to the same period last year, accounting for 17.4%. In addition, companies such as Qiao An, Pu Lian, and Hai Que have also entered the top five camps in terms of camera market share. In the field of car cameras, a set of data listed by Guojin Securities shows that the shipment volume of car cameras in China has increased from 42.63 million in 2020 to 72 million in 2023, with a compound annual growth rate of 19.1%. It is expected that the shipment volume of car cameras in China will exceed 100 million by 2025, and the market size will reach 23.7 billion yuan. The steady growth of consumer grade intelligent cameras, car cameras and other markets cannot be separated from the active layout of upstream and downstream companies in the industrial chain. Listed company OFILM stated on the interactive platform that in the field of smartphone business, the company is a mainstream supplier of high pixel camera modules and mid to high end camera products. Various optical lens products have entered the lens supply chain of mainstream domestic mobile phone manufacturers; In terms of assisted driving systems, the company has comprehensively laid out product lines such as in car cameras, in car lenses, LiDAR, and automatic parking area controllers. Allianz Vision stated that its intelligent cameras utilize the NPU (Neural Network Processor) of the main chip, which can support multiple AI algorithms. At present, the company has increased its investment in AI algorithm scenario based applications, and has completed the development of AI intelligent scenario based application functions such as passenger flow analysis, seamless attendance, human/motor/non motor vehicle detection, regional population statistics, and queue length detection. Oni Electronics also stated that the intelligent in car camera developed by the company mainly focuses on the segmented market of smart travel video in the consumer Internet of Things, including intelligent driving recorders and commercial vehicle video surveillance systems. Previously, Guoxing Optoelectronics stated that the "AI Smart Eye" camera module produced by the company is mainly used in the field of home appliances; Dongtian Micro stated that the company's main products are camera filters and optical communication components, which can be widely used in various terminal fields of the optical communication industry, such as consumer electronics products, car cameras, security monitoring equipment, 5G network construction, data centers, etc; Yutong Optics also stated that the company's main products are optical lenses and lenses, which are used in fields such as security, automotive, smart home, and consumer electronics. The main customers are camera module manufacturers. The industry believes that while the AI camera industry is rapidly developing, it still faces various challenges and needs to make coordinated breakthroughs in technological innovation, cost control, and safety compliance in order to achieve a leap from "basic intelligence" to "advanced intelligence". Zhao Siquan stated that the technological threshold for consumer grade cameras is not high, but users still face security and privacy issues when using cloud computing, AI prompts, and similar needs. Therefore, there is still room for improvement in the field of end-to-end encryption. In his opinion, the advantages of top domestic manufacturers are relatively obvious, with a concentrated market share. The national subsidy policy has accelerated the reshuffle of manufacturers to a certain extent, making it difficult for white label manufacturers and small manufacturers to survive. In the field of car cameras, Chen Chuanhong, an analyst at Guojin Securities, believes that there are certain technological barriers. Taking ADAS lenses as an example, they often use glass lenses, which have excellent optical performance but are difficult to mass produce. They also need to meet the reliability requirements of automotive standards (i.e. working temperature between -40 ℃ and 105 ℃, with a lifespan of more than 15 years). Some industry insiders also say that the current competition in the smart camera market is fierce, and product homogenization is severe. Enterprises need to rely on AI function upgrades to stimulate the demand for new products, but insufficient technological differentiation restricts their premium ability. In addition, the algorithm and interface compatibility of various manufacturers are poor, which affects device interconnection and data sharing. Core components also need to further increase research and development innovation efforts. (New Society)