March 26, 2012 — Hillcrest Labs made its Freespace motion control technology available to smartphone and tablet manufacturers, extending the product’s reach beyond Smart TV, video game, and PC industries. Sensor Platforms Inc. debuted its sensor fusion software, FreeMotion, for this sector as well. Recently, Xsens made its sensor fusion software available for motion sensing in consumer devices.
Sensor fusion software enables alternate sourcing of sensors from multiple manufacturers. Smartphones and tablets are using more sensors per device with each new product iteration. New smartphone/tablet applications include medical services, navigation, augmented reality, gaming, and more, noted Jérémie Bouchaud, director and senior principal analyst, MEMS and sensor for IHS, adding that "versatile software" provides a "common platform" across devices.
Also read: Solutions for MEMS sensor fusion and Sensor fusion opens MEMS supply chain to sensor management players
Hillcrest’s new Freespace MotionEngine for Mobile is an embedded software product to manage and enhance the combined performance of motion sensors — accelerometers, magnetometers, and gyroscopes — in smartphones and tablets. "Motion sensors are now standard in mobile devices, but today’s motion software implementations impose significant constraints that limit sensor choice, integration flexibility and performance," said Chad Lucien, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Hillcrest Labs. Using the sensor fusion software, manufacturers can specify sensors from any major supplier in the market. The mobile electronics industry specifically needs to be able to source from multiple chip suppliers, across multiple operating systems, Hillcrest asserts.
Freespace MotionEngine for Mobile is a sensor-fusion foundation for a variety of mobile applications, such as context awareness, pedestrian navigation, augmented reality, health and fitness, immersive gaming, gesture control, and more.
Hillcrest Labs provides multiplatform motion software and products. Additional information at www.hillcrestlabs.com.
Sensor Platforms Inc. released a library of software algorithms and middleware that combines and processes data from sensors in smartphones and tablets, as well. The FreeMotion Library enables devices to interpret users’ movements, context, and intent. A Software Development Kit (SDK) was also introduced.
Sensor Platforms’ FreeMotion Library takes raw data from accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes and barometers, combining them to conserve sensor power by up to 90%; maintain sensor calibration, and populate application programming interfaces (API) for innovative app development.
Sensor Platforms licenses algorithmic software and platforms that enable mobile consumer applications to better serve the users. Learn more at www.sensorplatforms.com.