Sony buys Belgian image sensor technology firm

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Sony Corp said it bought Belgian image sensor technology company Softkinetic Systems for an undisclosed sum, stepping up investment in an area that has become one of its strongest amid weak sales of its TVs and smartphones. Softkinetic specializes in a type of technology that helps measure "time of flight", or the time it takes for light to reflect off an object and return to an image sensor, Sony said. The deal comes after Sony said earlier this week that it will split off its semiconductors operations to help bolster growth of its image sensors business. Its sensors are used in smartphones such as Apple Inc's iPhone. (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)