ST Powering Big Trends at CES 2017

As the tech masses gathered in Las Vegas this week for the 50th annual CES conference, ST technology was powering some of the hottest trends.

AI & Smart Assistants:  Voice-activated “smart assistants” are everywhere. Just speak and they can help you with almost anything you need to do. These assistants are now in smartphones, home automation devices, and Smart-Home applications ranging from refrigerators to thermostats to speakers and window blinds to name a few. “Behind the curtain,” smart assistants might use:

• ST voice control through multiple MEMS microphones that could be utilized for sound source localization or beamforming;
• The BlueCoin development kit, a small, low power module that supports all of the ST development tools for audio processing;
• The powerful SensorTile IoT development kit, which uses a high-performance STM32F4 supporting advanced 3D audio and is compatible with the STM32 Open Development Environment and OpenSoftwareX framework;
• Audio over Bluetooth Low Energy that couples with a smartphone using cloud-based speech recognition and  text to speech phone apps for advanced natural speech dialog with AI, implemented with the ST SDK hardware and software building blocks.

Virtual Reality is  becoming a reality and ST SensorTile technology is enabling developers to create an immersive VR experience. When used in combination with ST’s osxMotionFX software, SensorTile can improve the user experience in virtual-reality applications by offering low noise, drift, and current consumption with superior performance that delivers low latency (<20 ms) to overcome motion sickness.

We also are showcasing an ultrasonic controller for VR with Chirp Microsystems. Their innovative VR headset uses low-power sensors and ultrasonic technology to enable three-dimensional tracking with millimeter accuracy; an ultrasound piezo transceiver for 3D sensing, gesture recognition, obstacle detection, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and level metering; and uses the lowest power technology in the market (<15uW). Powering the Chirp Virtual Reality Headset are several ST inertial sensors, STM32 sensor fusion and ST piezo-actuation technology using both AlN (Aluminum Nitride) and PZT (lead zirconate titanate) materials.

Drones are more prevalent at CES 2017 than ever before. Exhibitors are flying drones in cages or netted areas throughout the Las Vegas Convention Center and even outside in the Nevada dessert as part of the drone rodeo.

At CES, ST is showing its Teseo III GNSS system-on-a-chip solution in a connected small Unmanned Ariel System (sUAS) with sense and avoid ADS-B technology for the National Airspace System. The Teseo III is the only chipset in the world that lets developers put their own software on the processor with the GNSS, for higher integration and lower costs.

Our demonstration also includes the BlueNRG Bluetooth Low Energy stack as the control-link from an Android smartphone or tablet, showing low cost control of UAV without a dedicated R/C transmitter.

Self-Driving Cars are all over the news—and will be all over the roads in the coming years. Uber has self-driving cars already on the road; Tesla, Faraday Future, and Google are in the race as well; and announcements about self-driving cars from existing car manufacturers including BMW, Ford, Toyota, Nissan, and Hyundai were all made at the show.

With long experience and a strong reputation in automotive markets, ST is enabling this fast-evolving trend with innovative new technologies, including V2X intersection movement assist. This technology  increases road safety and improves traffic management using  5.9GHz Dedicated Short Range Communication, a derivative of Wi-Fi specifically defined for fast moving objects.

Another ST innovation was imaging technology offering unique flicker-free capability that enables systems to capture everything in its field-of-view, whether lighting is natural or LED. This technology will find quick application in digital cameras and smartphones and signal lights. In fact, ST is delivering the first camera sensor capable of flicker free and HDR (High Dynamic Range) video simultaneously; the camera delivers 1080p @ 60fps, very high dynamic range (145dB). The technology is also ideal for demanding surround-view, rearview, e-mirror, and forward-view applications.