Hillcrest Labs' Freespace® Motion Augments VENTURI Project

ROCKVILLE, Md. and BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Hillcrest Labs today announced the integration of its Freespace^® MotionEngine^™ Mobile motion control software with the VENTURI project, the scientific project developing a next-generation augmented reality (AR) paradigm. MotionEngine Mobile's responsive and precise motion control enhances the VENTURI user experience with smoother images, quicker response, and more accurate motion tracking.

"We are committed to bringing together the best technology in the industry to move augmented reality from concept to reality, and see Hillcrest's Freespace MotionEngine as a key part of that solution," said Paul Chippendale, researcher at the Bruno Kessler Foundation and coordinator of VENTURI. "Whether exploring virtual reality worlds, enhancing mapping and indoor navigation, or simply finding the nearest coffee shop, we believe Hillcrest's high performance motion technology will enhance our current data set to create a pervasive, user-centric AR paradigm."

"Freespace technology significantly improves augmented reality's performance, as we are demonstrating in partnership with VENTURI," said Chad Lucien, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Hillcrest Labs. "Our collaboration with VENTURI allows us to work with other thought-leaders in mobile technology, and ensures Hillcrest's highly accurate, drift-free motion technology will be a foundational element in the next wave of mobile platforms."

MotionEngine Mobile, which is part of Hillcrest's market-leading Freespace motion product family, provides low latency and high precision motion data, necessitated by AR applications. MotionEngine software increases the usability of the VENTURI platform in real-world environments, where temperature changes and magnetic interference have rendered other AR platforms less reliable. Key features of the MotionEngine include: contextual smoothing for jitter-free visualization, proprietary calibration methods to reduce gyro drift, comprehensive automated calibration, and advanced magnetic field interference tracking and filtering to improve performance in various environmental settings.

MotionEngine is an agnostic solution that maintains consistently high performance standards, regardless of sensor and other hardware variations, which further enhances the VENTURI platform's scalability potential.

VENTURI applications running on ST-Ericsson's NovaThor^™ Platform, featuring Hillcrest's Freespace motion control technology as well as other core technologies from Sony, metaio, ST Microelectronics, and others, will be on display at the 2013 Mobile World Congress, February 25-28 in Barcelona, in ST-Ericsson's booth 7E111 in Hall 7 of the Fira Gran Via.   

Companies that have licensed Freespace for use in their products include: Atmel, Eastman Kodak, LG Electronics, Logitech, Roku, SMK Electronics, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., TCL Multimedia, Universal Electronics (UEI), and more. Hillcrest's global intellectual property portfolio includes more than 60 issued patents, with more than 200 applications pending.

For more information on the VENTURI project, please visit: https://venturi.fbk.eu/. 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 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 licensing Hillcrest's motion technology include: Atmel, Eastman Kodak, LG Electronics, Logitech, Roku, SMK Electronics, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., TCL Multimedia, and others.

For consumers, Hillcrest offers the Kylo^™ browser, a free Web browser for TV viewing. 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 VENTURI
VENTURI (immersiVe ENhancemenT of User-woRld Interactions) is a European scientific project aiming to create a new content delivery paradigm through Augmented Reality (AR) that focuses more on the user rather than on the device. One of the goals of VENTURI is the development of a next generation mobile platform tailored specifically towards the demands posed by advanced AR applications. For this purpose, seven partners with distinct areas of expertise have joined forces: Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute, STMicroelectronics, metaio, ST-Ericsson, eDiam Sistemas, Sony Mobile Communications and INRIA. The VENTURI project is funded within the 7th Framework Program - ICT Theme (FP7288238) and runs from October 2011 to September 2014.

Hillcrest Labs, Freespace, and MotionEngine are trademarks of Hillcrest Laboratories, Inc. All other company names and trademarks remain property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Hillcrest Labs