Keeping an eye on the future of VR and AR

Coinciding with the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the new partnership will enable SMI’s eye tracking platform to deliver high frame rates and low latency, enabling real time, intuitive, and hands-free VR and AR experiences in devices such as VR headsets and smart glasses.

“Previously we have integrated OmniVision’s sensors to create unique reference designs for desktop, mobile and wearable VR and AR with exceptional results. By leveraging OmniVision’s latest sensor technology, we are able to offer an extremely compact, robust and fast eye tracking platform that can be easily integrated into a wide range of displays,” said Christian Villwock, Director of SMI’s OEM Solutions Business. “The combination of high performance and low power consumption in the OVM6211 aligns precisely with our advanced eye tracking technology, and is critical in pushing the frontiers of natural user interfaces.”

Will Foote, OmniVision’s Partnership Manager, added: “As the demand for VR and AR headsets increases rapidly, not only for gaming devices but also for professional, enterprise, academic and wider consumer applications, the availability of intuitive, hands-free user interfaces can become critical. We are excited to work alongside SMI, an industry leader of nearly 25 years, and help shape the future of this rapidly growing market segment.”

Using OmniVision’s 3 micron OmniPixel3-GSTM global shutter pixel, the OVM6211 features high sensitivity in near infrared (NIR) wavelengths, minimising the required power budget of the NIR light source. The OVM6211captures full resolution (400 x 400 pixels) video at 120 frames per second. OmniVision’s CameraCubeChip technology enables the OVM6211’s compact form factor of just 3.23 x 3.23 x 3.92mm, making it well suited for space constrained devices.