Hillcrest Labs has announced that its award-winning natural motion control technology, Freespace, is now available for manufacturers and component suppliers of smartphones and tablets.
The new Freespace MotionEngine for Mobile is an embedded software solution that manages and enhances the combined performance of motion sensors commonly found in smartphones and tablets – accelerometers, magnetometers, and gyroscopes – to enable today’s motion-based applications and provide the foundation for next generation user experiences.
According to information and analytics provider, IHS, shipments of motion sensors in mobile phones and media tablets will rise to 4.2 billion units in 2015, up from 1.5 billion in 2011. For years, Hillcrest has provided motion control technology to the smart TV, video game, and PC industries, licensing its technology to companies such as LG Electronics, Roku, Sony Computer Entertainment, and others.
‘The smartphone industry is at a key inflection point with motion control,’ said Chad Lucien, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Hillcrest Labs. ‘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. We aim to change that. Our Freespace MotionEngine for Mobile provides a unique software solution for Android and Windows 8 smartphones and tablets, which delivers the highest performance and provides the most flexible integration options, while enabling manufacturers to use sensors from any major supplier in the market.’
Added J-r-mie Bouchaud, director and senior principal analyst, MEMS and sensor for IHS: ‘Smartphones are becoming more and more advanced, ushering in new applications for medical services, navigation, augmented reality, gaming, and more. Hillcrest has a track record of providing advanced motion control products to some of the largest consumer electronics manufacturers in the world. As the demand for more sophisticated motion control technology grows within the smartphone and tablet industries, companies are now seeking more versatile software that provides a common platform to allow innovation across devices.’