Applied Technology Review : News

CEVA Inc. acquires the Hillcrest Labs Intelligent Sensor Technologies from InterDigital. CEVA Inc. is a licensor of sensor fusion, signal processing and  artificial intelligence (AI)  for a better connected world. CEVA has partnered with several OEMs and  semiconductor  firms across the globe to form intelligent, connected and power-efficient devices for different end markets. CEVA has recently revealed information on acquisition of Hillcrest Laboratories Inc. business from InterDigital Inc. Hillcrest Labs is a global supplier of software and its components aimed for  sensor processing for IoT  and customer devices. The most immediate effect of this acquisition on CEVA would be the enhancement of its smart sensing technology portfolio. The portfolio, now, includes motion sensing, vision, and sound that are complemented with high-end processors for incorporating AI at the edge.  The management of CEVA has expressed happiness that the sensor processing abilities and innovative sensor fusion technology, besides high-volume shipments of Hillcrest Labs will be in perfect alignment with the former’s diversification strategy in the smart sensors arena. Also, through the acquisition, CEVA is looking forward to extending the connected technology portfolio with complementary sensor processing technologies, which have powered over a hundred million devices. Having over fifteen years of experience in sensor processing, Hillcrest Labs is known as an innovator in combining data from several sensors for facilitating intelligent systems.  As part of this process, the data combined from several sensors are combined and the resulting software and algorithms are utilized in sensors such as the IMUs (Inertial Measurement Units), besides end-user products. This process empowers contextual awareness and enhanced customer experience for many devices, including specific navigation of autonomous drones and robots. The innovative and successful MotionEngine software by Hillcrest Labs can support large numbers of merchant sensor chips. The software, by combining with CEVA’s smart sensing technology, can expand and complement it. The CEVA sensing technologies combine AI processing and computer vision for sound processing for microphones and cameras. ...Read more

The precise indoor location of assets in a building allows for the improvement of internal logistic processes as well as personnel management, making it a vital tool for enhancing efficiency while lowering expenses. Different Indoor Positioning Systems are used for different purposes. Even when people are not outside, accurate indoor positioning systems (IPS) based on public sensors and user consent can deliver some level of location-based information. An (IPS) is a network of devices that can be used to find persons or items in situations where GPS and other satellite technologies are inaccurate or fail completely. Multistory structures, airports, alleys, parking garages, and underground places are all examples of this. The accuracy of current IPS technologies is weak, especially in multi-level buildings. The deterioration of the GPS signal caused by the structure's concrete walls is frequently the cause. Even when people are not outside, accurate indoor positioning systems (IPS) based on public sensors and user consent can deliver some level of location-based information. An (IPS) is a network of devices that can be used to find persons or items in situations where GPS and other satellite technologies are inaccurate or fail completely. Multistory structures, airports, alleys, parking garages, and underground places are all examples of this. The accuracy of current IPS technologies is weak, especially in multi-level buildings. The deterioration of the GPS signal caused by the structure's concrete walls is frequently the cause. Types of indoor positioning technologies Bluetooth low energy (BLE) BLE technology can detect a person's or object's general location, allowing continuous asset tracking with at least room-accurate location using BLE sensors/beacons. The Angle of Arrival (AoA) method of position calculation enables far more exact localizations, but it comes at a considerable expense in terms of sensor infrastructure and hardware. Because of the cheaper costs and ease of use, BLE and Beacons have emerged as the best indoor locating technology. WiFi-based systems WiFi-based systems distribute readings to several WiFi access points using WiFi transmitters as tags. These readings are used by information algorithms to calculate the source's location. Eventually, the location data is sent to a cloud environment. Systems that use WiFi and TDOA (time difference of arrival) technology provide a high level of precision m,k, but they can be costly. UWB Ultra-Wideband (UWB) systems use three-dimensional positioning to attain extremely high accuracy. Due to the extraordinarily wide UWB signal and the capacity to emit a very wide pulse over a GHz of spectrum, continuous, highly accurate asset tracking is conceivable. In the past, UWB-based systems have had the highest accuracy. Despite the low cost of UWB tags, due to the tags' limited ranges, every location requires at least three readers. A UWB system is substantially more expensive than a BLE solution because of this. ...Read more