October 21, 2013 – QuickLogic (NASDAQ: QUIK), a provider of innovative programmable ultra-low power CSSPs (Customer Standard Products), announced the launch of an ultra-low power sensor hub solution platform for mobile devices (product name: ArcticLink® 3 S1). The S1 platform reduces power consumption to approximately 1% of system power, integrates sensor management and fusion capabilities, optimizes application processor communication, and supports always-on situational awareness.

Current generation smartphones typically implement sensor fusion capabilities using software running on microcontrollers/microprocessors or fixed-function ASSPs (Application-Specific Standard Products). These microcontroller or microprocessor-based solutions are significantly disadvantageous in terms of cost, size, and weight because they do not operate at low power levels sufficient to keep the impact on battery life below 1%. Furthermore, current ASSP solutions lack the flexibility required to utilize new algorithms being developed to support situational awareness.

QuickLogic has developed a new concept sensor hub architecture that combines a microcode-based state machine for front-end sensor management, an ultra-low-power CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer)-based ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit) for real-time sensor data processing, and reprogrammable embedded logic. This new platform relieves the workload on smartphone application processors associated with managing and processing sensor data in real time, thereby achieving power consumption levels capable of supporting next-generation sensor use cases in mobile devices, namely always-on situational awareness. Thanks to this, OEMs and third-party software developers have been able to realize countless applications requiring always-on situational awareness capabilities, such as step counting and other health/exercise monitoring, pedestrian navigation/indoor navigation, consumer behavior analysis, targeted advertising, real-time sports data collection, and augmented reality.

The ArcticLink 3 S1 platform incorporates various proprietary technologies from QuickLogic. The Sensor Manager, which implements an ultra-low-power I2C master interface communicating with multi-axis sensors such as accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes, ambient light sensors, and pressure sensors, samples and buffers seconds of sensor data while consuming extremely low power levels when the system's application processor is idle. The integrated Flexible Fusion Engine (FFE) is specifically designed to process, filter, and interpret sensor data before transmitting it to the host application processor. Microcode running on the FFE can be programmed to implement various complex computational functions related to sensor fusion, background sensor calibration, and context-changing algorithms. The ArcticLink 3 S1 platform enables highly responsive motion detection suitable for high-speed gaming and image stabilization applications, and provides a programmable communication manager that optimizes data transmission to the host application processor. Finally, because the S1 platform is based on QuickLogic's latest ultra-low-power, real-time reprogrammable logic, it can be customized to meet the unique requirements of each OEM.

In addition to the platform, QuickLogic also developed a software tool called FFEAT (Flexible Fusion Engine Algorithm Tool). This tool is used by developers to define, simulate, and map their algorithms to FFE. System solutions based on the patent-pending AL3S1 platform and FFEAT tools demonstrate a paradigm shift in how OEMs build sensor algorithms in energy-efficient implementations.

Jérémie Bouchaud, Director and Principal Analyst for MEMS and Sensors at IHS, stated, "The smartphone market will become the largest and fastest-growing market in the MEMS sector in the future." He added, "By 2016, all smartphones and tablets will be equipped with internal MEMS sensors such as accelerometers, magnetometers, and gyroscopes. If these sensors are combined with sensor hub technology that enables always-on situational awareness while minimizing battery consumption, a flood of new third-party applications could emerge."

Brian Faith, Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing at QuickLogic, stated, "The mobile device industry, including smartphones and tablets, needed a sensor hub solution capable of providing computing performance while consuming only 1% of system power. The new ArcticLink 3 S1 sensor hub solution platform is our answer to that need." He added, "Based on this solution, OEMs will be able to support next-generation features and applications that were previously impossible by implementing always-on situational awareness capabilities."

Purchase and supply
QuickLogic's ArcticLink 3 S1 sensor hub solution and FFEAT tools are currently available for purchase. QuickLogic directly supports OEM sensor hub requirements while also supplying standardized catalog solutions. For more information, please visit www.quicklogic.com/sensorhub .