Innovative motion algorithms enable multifunctional gesture recognition devices

With Hillcrest Laboratories Inc.’s latest order for Zigbee wireless RF solutions from Texas Instruments (TI) – integrating its MEMS sensor algorithms into TI’s RemoTI protocol for the RF4CE consumer electronics hardware platform – Hillcrest expects to further penetrate the fast-growing markets of MEMS motion control interfaces for Smart TV, streaming video, gaming and 3D gesture control.

"Our Freespace MotionEngine algorithms enable more functionality in MEMS-based user interfaces, significantly improving OEMs' product performance," said Chad Lucien, senior vice president of business and marketing at Hillcrest. "Now that OEMs can choose TI's RF4CE remote control chip and Broadcom's Bluetooth remote control, we also expect this will lead to more design wins for our Smart TV, set-top box (STB), gaming consoles and other gesture-based user interface applications."

Last year, Hillcrest Labs announced that its MEMS sensor algorithm Freespace MotionEngine was integrated into Broadcom's digital TV single chip and Bluetooth single chip, and also won important orders for LG smart TV and SMK smart TV remote control. Recently, the company's product was also used in Roku's Internet TV (IPTV) set-top box.

Hillcrest also licensed its IP to Playstation maker Sony and successfully resolved a dispute with Wii maker Nintendo Corp over its motion processing algorithms.

The latest algorithm solutions and improved modularity of Freespace MotionEngine enable OEMs to execute motion processing algorithms directly in remote controls, wirelessly in USB dongles, and on application processors in smart TVs, game consoles, mobile phones and other devices.

“As we get more design wins for a variety of devices, we also have to make Freespace MotionEngine more flexible,” said Lucien. “For example, smart TVs can now run gesture recognition algorithms on their application processors, thereby reducing costs and extending the battery life of remote controls, which now only need to transmit raw sensing data from the MEMS sensor chip.”

Hillcrest also offers pre-assembled sensor modules that fully integrate MEMS accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers, as well as a microcontroller running on Freespace MotionEngine, so that OEMs can more easily integrate them into their own gesture remote control products. OEMs can also choose to license Hillcrest's reference design developed specifically for gesture control remote controls - Scoop Pointer. This Scoop Pointer even includes a red laser pointer, so it can also be used for "air-mouse" applications, as long as the speaker uses a laser pointer to select menu items on the screen and point to the desired item.

Hillcrest also recently updated its free Kylo web browser to allow OEMs to modify it when developing their smart TV remote control applications using Freespace MotionEngine on a PC.