Coolpad Group Uses Hillcrest Labs’ Low Power Sensor Hub in New Smartphones

Hillcrest Labs today announced that Coolpad Group (previously China Wireless), the seventh-largest global smartphone OEM1, is using Hillcrest's sensor hub software to enable always on sensing on Coolpad smartphones.

0Specifically, Hillcrest's Freespace^® software will run on Atmel's low-power microcontroller solutions to provide high performance sensor fusion, gesture recognition, and always on context awareness capabilities, with dramatically lower power consumption and extended battery life. Additional details, such as smartphone models or pricing, were not disclosed.

"Coolpad realizes that sensors are critical to differentiate its functionality and maintain its dramatic growth in the global smartphone market," said Chad Lucien, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Hillcrest Labs. "We're proud to have been selected by Coolpad to provide the sensor hub functionality that will define its new mobile experience and enable context awareness, augmented reality, improved navigation, and better gaming."

"The demand for sophisticated sensor hubs continues to rise within the global mobile industry to meet consumers' insatiable appetite for more compelling apps and better user experiences," said Frank Zhang, Vice President at Coolpad Group. "Hillcrest provides us with a unique combination of features that enable low power, high performance mobile sensor hubs. Coolpad has constantly focused its D&R resources on creative technologies and products. Coolpad has launched healthcare devices and a smartwatch, called Coolwatch. We're delighted to use best elements from supply chains all over the world."

Sensor hubs are a separate class of chips designed to offload sensor management from the main processor for mobile phones and other devices. They reduce the power requirements to add always on sensing in smartphones, tablets, and wearables devices such as activity monitors, smartwatches, and head mounted displays (HMDs). This enables gesture control, context awareness, pedestrian navigation, augmented reality, health and fitness monitoring, and immersive gaming. Hillcrest's sensor hub software products combine an array of sophisticated algorithms to provide low power, high performance sensor fusion and transform sensor data into valuable application-ready information.

Coolpad's use of Freespace technology is further evidence of the technology's importance for the global smartphone market. It also marks another major, Asia-based consumer electronics OEM to adopt Hillcrest's technology. Hillcrest's SH-1 sensor hub software was recently named a finalist for the prestigious 2014 EE Times and EDN ACE award for Internet of Things (IoT) Technology, Service, or End Application of the Year. The SH-1 was nominated for its ability to change the consumer experience of IoT devices by extending battery life and adding new functionality.