PrimeSense

PrimeSense was an Israeli 3D sensing company based in Tel Aviv. PrimeSense had offices in Israel, North America, Japan, Singapore, Korea, China and Taiwan. PrimeSense was bought by Apple Inc. for $360 million on November 24, 2013.

History

PrimeSense was a fabless semiconductor company and provided products in the area of sensory inputs for consumer and commercial markets.

PrimeSense's technology had been originally applied to gaming but was later applied in other fields.[1] PrimeSense was best known for licensing the hardware design and chip used in Microsoft's Kinect motion-sensing system for the Xbox 360 in 2010.[2] The company had been founded in 2005 to explore depth-sensing cameras which they had demonstrated to developers at the 2006 Game Developers Conference. Microsoft had been looking on its own at 3D camera technology applications to its

Technology

Light coding technology

PrimeSense's depth acquisition was enabled by "light coding" technology. The process coded the scene with near-IR light, light that returns distorted depending upon where things are (Structured light). The solution then used a standard off-the-shelf CMOS image sensor to read the coded light back from the scene using various algorithms to triangulate and extract the 3D data. The product analysed scenery in 3 dimensions with software, so that devices could interact with users.[5][6]

Products

PrimeSense system on a chip (SoC)

The CMOS image sensor worked with the visible video sensor to enable the depth map provided by PrimeSense SoC's Carmine (PS1080) and Capri (PS1200) to be merged with the color image. The SoCs performed a registration process so the color image (RGB) and depth (D) information was aligned properly.[7] The light coding infrared patterns were deciphered in order to produce a VGA size depth image of a scene. It delivered visible video, depth, and audio information in a synchronized fashion via the USB 2.0 interface. The SoC had minimal CPU requirements as all depth acquisition algorithms ran on the SoC itself.

PrimeSense sensors

PrimeSense embedded its technology in its own sensors, the Carmine 1.08 and Carmine 1.09. Capri 1.25, touted by the company as the world's smallest 3D sensor, debuted at International CES 2013.[8]

Carmine 1.08
Carmine 1.09 (short range)
Capri 1.25 (embedded)

PrimeSense middleware

PrimeSense developed NiTE middleware which analyzed the data from hardware and modules for OpenNI providing gesture and skeleton tracking. They were released only as binaries.[9] According to the NiTE LinkedIn page: "Including computer vision algorithims, NiTE identifies users and tracks their movements, and provides the framework API for implementing natural-interaction UI controls based on gestures."[10] The system could then interpret specific gestures, making completely hands-free control of electronic devices a reality.[1] Including:

Identification of people their body properties, movements and gestures
Classification of objects such as furniture
Location of walls and floor[6]

PrimeSense system on a chip (SoC)

PrimeSense sensors

PrimeSense embedded its technology in its own sensors, the Carmine 1.08 and Carmine 1.09. Capri 1.25, touted by the company as the world's smallest 3D sensor, debuted at International CES 2013.[8]

Carmine 1.08
Carmine 1.09 (short range)
Capri 1.25 (embedded)

PrimeSense middleware

Identification of people their body properties, movements and gestures
Classification of objects such as furniture
Location of walls and floor[6]

Markets

PrimeSense's original focus was on the gaming and living room markets,[11] but expanded to include:

Television

Kinect by Microsoft was powered by PrimeSense technology that allowed gamers to use their entire body to control play, action and movement of their onscreen characters.

PC and mobile

WAVI Xtion for the PC by ASUS used PrimeSense's core 3D sensing solution, developed primarily for browsing multimedia content, accessing Web sites and social networks when the PC was hooked up to the living room TV.[12]
[Structure Sensor] Mobile 3D sensor by Occipital used a custom chip based on PrimeSense's 3D sensing solution. The sensor itself was designed to easily attach to a wide range of devices, including the Apple iPad, Android tablets and desktop platforms such as Windows, OS X and Linux.[13]

Interactive displays

Firecube SMART by Firecube Public Multimedia: An interactive multimedia solution for games, presentations and attractions in public spaces.[14]
EyePlay by Eyeclick - an interactive video gaming system with 3D interactive projection capabilities.[15]
ViiMotion by Covii:an Interactive Software Device, created to provide generic or custom interactive applications through computer vision.[16]
Interactive Projector by Ayotle: an interactive solution that used a depth sensor to make any real or imaginary surface act like a tactile or contactless interactive device.[17]
Finger Tracking MW by 3Gear Systems: a precise tracking system that used computer graphics algorithms for reconstructing the precise pose of the user's hands from 3D cameras

Retail

SmartFit by Styku:a multi-channel retail platform for fit prediction and visualization
Bodymetrics pod by Bodymetrics: a full 3D body scanner that was designed to calculate measurements which are then analyzed and used to find suitable garments.[19]
Matterport Pro 3D Camera by Matterport: a consumer 3D camera that creates immersive panoramic tours with an underlying 3D mesh.[20]

Robotics

SAMI by Criif: PrimeSense sensors allow the humanoid robot to be fully autonomous in the house or specific environment.[21]

Healthcare

Ava by iRobot: an autonomous mobile robotics platform[22]

type	Subsidiary of Apple Inc.
fate	Acquired by Apple Inc.
foundation	2005
defunct	2013
location	Israel
parent	Apple Inc.
key people	Aviad Maizels (president and founder) Alexander Shpunt (chief technology officer and cofounder) Inon Beracha (CEO)
industry	Fabless semiconductor
products	PrimeSense 3D sensor Carmine 1.08 Carmine 1.09 (short range) Capri 1.25 (not yet available) Carmine 1080 SoC Capri 1200 SoC (not yet available) NiTE middleware

History

Technology

Light coding technology

Products

PrimeSense system on a chip (SoC)

PrimeSense sensors

PrimeSense middleware

PrimeSense system on a chip (SoC)

PrimeSense sensors

PrimeSense middleware

Markets

Television

PC and mobile

Interactive displays

Retail

Robotics

Healthcare

Timeline

Partners

Awards

External links

References