Canesta is a fabless semiconductor company founded in April 1999 by Cyrus Bamji, Abbas Rafii, and Nazim Kareemi. The company manufactures 3D CMOS-based chip sensors, which can be used as part of an input system for electronic devices. On October 29, 2010, Canesta announced that it would be acquired by Microsoft for an undisclosed amount. Canasco was formed as Canesta's parent company to transition and tear down Canesta.
Video Canesta
History
The company was publicly launched at PC Forum in 2002, announcing its 3D CMOS-based 3D sensing technology using the Flying Time principle. Described as "electronic perception technology", the company promotes its technology as a daily machine and a digital device capable of "seeing".
In 2002, at Demo Mobile, the company announced its first app, a projection keyboard for mobile devices. In this application, a keyboard made of light is projected onto a flat surface, the type of user on a flat surface, and Canesta's electronic perception technology translates finger movements into typewriting on the device. The company then licensed the technology to Celluon of Korea.
The company then focused on its automotive technology applications, secured investment from Honda, and promoted its technology in public automotive industry forums such as Convergence 2006. The interior occupants who feel the advanced airbag deployment and rear barrier detection are two examples of applications.
The company recently turned its attention to a video game room where the technology formed the basis of unique input mechanisms that enabled a new immersive game experience.
On October 29, 2010, it was announced that Microsoft would acquire Canesta for an undisclosed amount, stating that their partnership would assist in the development of a natural user interface and deploy their technology adoption into a wider product suite. Microsoft has developed motion controllers for its Xbox 360 gaming console, using the current PrimeSense and Kinect technologies for Xbox One switching to Canesta Time-of-flight camera core technology.
Maps Canesta
Finance
The Company has raised $ 70 Million to date in the next investment round.
The investors of the company include The Carlyle Group, Venrock Associates, KGIF, Hotung Capital, Honda Motor Company, Ltd., Optex, Ltd., Quanta Computer Inc. (2382.TW), and SMSC (NASDAQ: SMSC).
Products
Canesta provides its electronic perception technology in the form of 3D CMOS image sensors to several OEM markets (Original Equipment Manufacturer), including consumer electronics, video games, automotive, security, and industry. In Q3 2010, the latest generation of Canesta sensors is the 'Cobra' 3D ToF CMOS sensor. This sensor uses standard CMOS image sensor process and has a ToF pixel arrangement with XY 320x200 resolution. The accuracy of the range is characterized by noise around the correct range data, and in this 'Cobra' device, this noise is in the vicinity of a single digit of a millimeter.
The company also provides reference design, functioning sensor module, and developer toolkit.
Technology
Canesta's time-of-flight technology consists of an array of pixels in which each pixel can independently determine the distance to the object it sees. This array is basically a massive parallel LIDAR on a single CMOS chip. The core of this technology is the exclusive silicone photo collection structure in each pixel that allows accurate measurement of the arrival time of the collected photons. This photo collection structure is substantially immune to CMOS surface defects that typically adversely affect flight time. This allows the flight time to start using a low-cost CMOS process.
Using Canesta technology, 3D time-of-flight cameras can be constructed from the time of the Canesta CMOS flight sensor, an imaging lens to focus light from scene to sensor and LED or laser diode based on a light source controlled by the sensor to illuminate the scene with near infrared light.
References
Further reading
- May, Mike (December, 2002). "Type It Anywhere". Scientific American . Subscribe only.
- Vance, Ashlee (March 28, 2002). "Digital illusion: a PC that can see?". CNN.com.
- "World Economic Forum Gives 40 Technology Pioneers from 10 Countries for 2003". World Economic Forum.
- Merritt, Rick (March 25, 2002). "CMOS sensor detects 3-D images for mobile apps". EE Times .
- "When work is fun and games". IEEE spectrum .
- "Canesta's Start-Up to Virtual Keyboard Projector Display". (September 18, 2002). Wall Street Journal . Subscribe only.
- "Big Ten Technology Startup Name in Wireless Ventures". (May 1, 2002). VentureWire . Subscribe only.
External links
- Canasco (fka Canesta) (official website, deadlink)
- archived official website snippet
- Kanesta's channel on YouTube
- Canesta on Twitter
- ? CEATEC JAPAN 2008? HITACHI Gesture operation TV on YouTube (Adobe Flash video) - Gesture control using time-of-flight camera Canesta
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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