(October 28, 2010) — As the use of motion sensors in various consumer electronic devices is expanding quickly, the industry competitive landscape is significantly changing. This is most apparent with MEMS gyroscopes. The battle to introduce the 3-axis gyroscopes on smartphones has just started, but the major market for MEMS gyroscopes is still gaming. In a $418 million consumer gyroscope market in 2010, gaming represents a market segment of $162 million, according to Yole Développement.

Yole Développement will release a new report dedicated to the worldwide consumer electronics industry next month. This market & technological analysis will include competitive landscape, market data, technological challenges analysis, and more.

More than 50 million Motion Plus controllers (which integrate InvenSense and Epson gyroscopes) have been sold since their launch in June 2009. However  this is just a start, since new motion sensing solutions with MEMS gyroscope are now being released on the market. In September 2010, the Sony Move game controller was launched. It integrates 9 degrees of freedom with the use of accelerometers, gyroscopes and compass. It uses complex sensor fusion algorithms creating more precise gestures recognition, and more immersive gaming experiences. And now, Nintendo is planning to add motion sensing features in portable game stations, by integrating accelerometers and gyroscopes in 3DS, to be released in February 2011.

Yole Développement believes 2 gyroscope industry providers will benefit from these changes:

• According to Yole Développement’s information, the 2-axis gyro in the Move controller is from Sony. Sony is a newcomer in the MEMS gyroscope landscape: Sony has developed a 2-axis solution that is now integrated in all its DSCs except high-end products since 2009. Those parts are also sold to a few other DSC manufacturers in Japan, and are now integrated in the PS3 Move game controller, which means that Sony now has a very large gyro market share. Sony Computer Entertainment may have a second source for this 2-axis gyroscope but Yole Développement believes that Sony gyroscopes are used in majority.
• Panasonic has recently launched its 3-axis gyroscope and is actively promoting it in the gaming and mobile phone industry. Yole Développement expects Panasonic 3-axis gyroscopes to be integrated in the future Nintendo 3DS.

Competition is gaining intensity as the gaming gyroscope market is becoming increasingly attractive. Established players (ST, Epson Toyocom, InvenSense) are also pushing hard to introduce 3-axis gyroscopes into this market while new large players such as Kionix and Bosch Sensortec are expected to enter this market. It is possible that a unique 3-axis gyro could  replace the 2-axis gryo + single axis gryo of the Motion Plus controller.

Current integrations of several types of sensors open the way for even more technology or capability. Yole Développement forecasts an increase in market traction for MEMS IMUs within one or two generation of products, provided that the cost of such packages becomes more attractive compared to the simple addition of accelerometer and gyroscope discrete sensors.

Market and technology trends dedicated to the worldwide consumer electronics industry will be presented in the next report: “Motion Sensor Market for Consumer & Mobile Applications” by Yole Développement. Under this study, the company analyzes the latest technology challenges for numerous applications — mobile phones, tablets, cameras, game controllers, remote controls — and describes the competitive landscape. What are the current solutions? What will be tomorrow’s technologies? What are the market’s needs?

Laurent Robin, Market Analyst at Yole Développement, explains the structure of this industry and announces key market data. The “Motion Sensor Market for Consumer & Mobile Applications” report includes detailed analysis on the following MEMS solutions: accelerometers, gyroscopes, electronic compass, combo sensors.

The report will be available in November 2010. For more information about this report, contact Yole Développement at www.yole.fr.

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