BrainChip and Magik Eye Collaborate on Object, Gesture Recognition

BrainChip Holdings and Magik Eye are teaming up to bring object detection and gesture recognition to connected devices. The joint solution blends Magic Eye’s energy-efficient Invertible Light 3D depth sensing technology with BrainChip’s Akida neuromorphic processor.

Invertible Light uses a dot projector and a CMOS image sensor to generate 3D point cloud data, while the Akida is an ultra low-power processor that can analyze that data quickly and efficiently. The two companies believe that their technology will enable computer vision applications in a range of different products, including the driver assist and driver monitoring systems in smart cars and autonomous vehicles.

The technology can also be integrated into Smart Home, Smart City, and consumer devices. The announcement specifically highlighted gaming products such as VR and AR headsets, but the solution is not necessarily limited to entertainment. 

“We are excited about the benefits that customers will experience, in terms of a total 3D vision solution for robotics, machine vision and many other new applications,” said Magik Eye Founder and CEO Takeo Miyazawa.

“Their proprietary Invertible Light technology is impressive and this collaboration provides both companies an opportunity to address large and growing markets with outstanding technology to solve difficult real-world challenges,” added BrainChip CEO Louis DiNardo.

BrainChip is hoping that the partnership will create new business opportunities in the Japanese market. The joint marketing arrangement will last for one year, though it can be extended with the consent of both parties. 

Driver monitoring systems can watch for signs of drowsiness and distracted driving, and have become an increasingly popular safety feature in the latest generation of smart vehicles. BrainChip, meanwhile, previously partnered with Denmark’s Telesikring to market face and object recognition technology to police departments in Scandinavia. That technology was intended for use in surveillance systems. 

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August 21, 2020 – by Eric Weiss