Movidius joins Toshiba to offer 3D system to smartphone manufacturers

MOVIDIUS, THE Dublin mobile semiconductor company, has signed a partnership with Toshiba Electronics Europe, that will see the two companies jointly offering a 3D system to smartphone manufacturers.

The two companies will offer a complete 3D system made up of the Movidius Myriad 3D processor and Toshiba’s 8 megapixel extended depth of field (EDOF) cameras.

“The Toshiba EDOF cameras work very well for 3D compared to auto-focus cameras which are slower to react to changes and harder to keep synchronised,” said Sean Mitchell, chief executive of Movidius. “The EDOF cameras deliver very crisp 3D.”

Movidius has developed a processor and associated software that allows 3D images to be viewed on a smartphone or other mobile device by synchronising two images. It does not require the viewer to wear special glasses and the Myriad 3D processor can also convert 2D images to 3D in real time.

Supplying a complete package of camera, processor and software, which can plug into existing smartphone architectures, will be more attractive to phone makers, said Mr Mitchell.

Movidius expects the technology to be integrated into “mass market” mobile phones by the end of the year. The technology will be on display at Mobile World Congress, the global conference for the mobile industry, which takes place in Barcelona at the end of this month.

The two companies will also collaborate on a module that uses a 3 megapixel camera that will reduce costs and could be adopted in lower-end models.

Movidius introduced its Myriad 3D processor in late 2010. Mr Mitchell said that while competitors have emerged since then, “they are not offering the same features as Movidius”.

“The handset makers are saying ‘bringing us two cameras is not a 3D camera module’,” he said.

“They want all the 3D processing in the camera module and want a single feed to the main processor.”

“Movidius’s Myriad 3D solution delivers multimedia features beyond what is offered by any other player in the mobile 3D market,” said Shiro Ando, vice- president, Toshiba Electronics Europe. “Movidius’s leading 3D imaging capabilities complement the high functionality of Toshiba’s EDOF cameras, enabling mobile handset makers to meet consumer demand for a superior 3D mobile experience. Simultaneously, they simplify the manufacturing process by rectifying distortion via software rather than requiring laser trimming during production.”

Last December Movidius raised an additional $9 million (€6.75 million) in venture capital from existing investors, including Celtic House Venture Partners, Capital E, Emertec Gestion and AIB Seed Capital Fund, bringing total investment in the company to $30 million.

At that time Mr Mitchell said the new funding would see the company through to a break-even position by the end of this year.

Movidius employs 50 staff in Dublin, Hong Kong and Romania.