Hillcrest Labs and Bosch Sensortec Collaborate on Sensor Hub Solution for Head-Mounted Displays and Wearable Devices

SAN FRANCISCO, March 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Hillcrest Labs ("Hillcrest") and Bosch Sensortec  today announced a partnership to launch a new sensor solution for head-mounted displays (HMDs). The BNO070 solution includes Hillcrest's SH-1 sensor hub software running on Bosch Sensortec's 9-axis system in package (SiP), which features an accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, and a 32-bit microcontroller in a single package. The solution is optimized for the HMD market, and can be customized for other wearable computing applications. Hillcrest and Bosch Sensortec will begin sampling the new BNO070 to key development partners in mid-2014.

The BNO070 will enable motion control, pedometer, compass, gesture recognition, and context awareness for augmented reality, virtual reality, gaming, and navigation applications on HMDs. The low power consumption and compact size — 5.2 x 3.8 x 1.1 mm³ — make the BNO070 ideal for wearable devices, where both power and space are limited. The pre-integrated solution eases system integration, provides faster time to market, and reduces customer development costs for adding advanced sensor-based functionality to a wide array of devices.

"Bosch Sensortec and Hillcrest have a shared vision that applications enabled by sensors will become essential to a wide variety of consumer and industrial products," said Dan Simpkins, CEO of Hillcrest Labs. "This collaboration with Bosch Sensortec enables us to offer complete, scalable and high performance solutions to emerging markets such as HMDs and the next generation of wearable devices."

"We are confident that a broad range of head mounted products will benefit from the level of performance, range of functions, and low power utilization of the SH-1 software," said Stefan Finkbeiner, CEO of Bosch Sensortec. "Hillcrest provides high performance software with application specific features, which together with Bosch Sensortec's world class sensors enable new markets such as HMD."

Hillcrest and Bosch Sensortec will co-present information about the new BNO070 solution at Wearables DevCon on Thursday, March 6^th in San Francisco, CA, USA at 1:45-2:45 p.m. PT. More information about Bosch Sensortec is available at: www.bosch-sensortec.com. For additional information about Hillcrest, visit: www.HillcrestLabs.com.

About Hillcrest Labs:
Hillcrest Labs is the leading global supplier of software and hardware for motion-enabled products. Our Freespace^® technology transforms human movement into high quality, application-ready motion information. With a decade of development and many unique patented features, products come to life with Freespace motion. Companies that have licensed or used Hillcrest's motion technology include: Atmel, Eastman Kodak, Hisense, Intel, LG Electronics, Logitech, Oppo, Roku, SMK Electronics, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., TCL Multimedia, Universal Electronics (UEI), and others.

Hillcrest has received numerous awards and recognitions including the prestigious CES Innovations Honoree Award multiple times, IMS Research's TV Innovation Awards, EE Times' ACE Award, PC World's 100 Best Products and Greatest Tech Designs, Popular Mechanics' Editors Choice, ECN's Reader's Choice Tech, and many others. Additional information about Hillcrest's broad portfolio of motion control products is available at: www.HillcrestLabs.com. Follow Hillcrest on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HillcrestLabs or Twitter at @HillcrestLabs.

About Bosch Sensortec:
Bosch Sensortec GmbH is a fully owned subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH. It develops and markets micro-mechanical sensors for consumer electronics, mobile phones, safety systems, industrial technology and logistics. The product portfolio includes triaxial geomagnetic and acceleration sensors, triaxial gyroscopes, barometric pressure sensors and a comprehensive software portfolio for various applications. Since its foundation in 2005 Bosch Sensortec emerged as the technology leader in the addressed markets. The Bosch Group has been the global market leader for MEMS sensors since 1998 and has to date sold more than 3 billion MEMS sensors. For more information, go to www.bosch-sensortec.com.

All company names and trademarks remain property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Hillcrest Labs