Hillcrest Labs Launches Low Power Sensor Hub for Smartphones, Tablets, Wearables and the Internet of Things

ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Hillcrest Labs today announced it has designed a new sensor hub product to change how consumers use their smartphones and other portable electronics. Sensor hubs are a separate class of chips designed to offload sensor management from the main processor. Hillcrest's SH-1 sensor hub is a turn-key software solution that provides 'always on' features such as context awareness and gesture recognition to augment the consumer experience and minimize system power consumption. At launch, Hillcrest's software will be paired with a cost-effective, low power SAM D20 ARM^® Cortex^® M0+ based microcontroller from Atmel^®, which enables device manufacturers to get to market quickly.   

The SH-1 sensor hub is a complete software package that includes high performance, low power sensor fusion, context awareness and gesture recognition algorithms, optimized sensor drivers, and the hub/host interface which communicates with an application processor. The software transforms data from up to six different types of sensors—including inertial, magnetic and environmental sensors—into application-ready information and is designed to perform consistently regardless of the sensor supplier used. The combination of the low power sensor hub microcontroller and Hillcrest's software is available for Android™ smartphones and tablets, wearable devices, and a variety of other sensor-enabled devices.

"There's an insatiable appetite for power savings and new functionality in mobile devices and wearable electronics," said Chad Lucien, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Hillcrest Labs. "We are confident that a broad range of products will benefit from the level of performance, range of functions, and low power utilization of the SH-1 sensor hub."

"ARM is pleased to see Hillcrest Labs launch the SH-1 sensor hub, which promises to hand consumers compelling new experiences and levels of control over their environments and devices," said Simon Ford, director, Internet of Things Platforms, ARM. "We're excited to partner with Hillcrest Labs to turn the vision of 'always on', context-aware devices into reality. This is a great example of how intelligent and energy-efficient ARM-based technology is bringing the exciting benefits of the Internet of Things into consumers' lives today."

At launch, Hillcrest's SH-1 sensor hub will be available on Atmel's chip and will support sensors from the world's leading sensor makers. It is initially targeted to the Android mobile device ecosystem, with complete support for Android 4.3 at launch. The solution can be augmented by the Freespace MotionElements software bundle to provide additional context awareness, activity tracking and gesture recognition functions on the application processor. Hillcrest expects to announce customers using Freespace-enabled sensor hubs in products shipping in the coming months. Hillcrest will present information about the new sensor hub solution during the session: "Sensor Fusion, Sensor Hubs, and the Future of Smartphone Intelligence" at ARM TechCon, taking place October 30^th in Santa Clara, CA at 1:30 p.m. PT in Grand Ballroom B, and in Atmel's booth #207.

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 use Hillcrest's motion technology include: Atmel, Eastman Kodak, Hisense, Intel, LG Electronics, Logitech, 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.

SOURCE Hillcrest Labs