Optronic today announced that it has signed a preferred supplier agreement with Canesta Inc. For the industry in Europe, this opens up new possibilities for Optronic to develop industrial applications based on Canesta's unique CMOS 3-D sensor technology.
Canesta's "time of flight" technology is revolutionizing the electronics- and optics-industry as we speak. By establishing this cooperation between Optronic and Canesta we will shorten the time to market for new industrial applications, and this will undoubtedly strengthen the competiveness of the industry, says Rickard Åström, CEO Optronic.
Canesta has developed and patented new, low-cost, semiconductor-based methods for forming electronic images of nearby objects in three dimensions. Unlike the sensors in digital cameras Canesta technology can compute the distance from the sensor of every single pixel in the image, in real time. What is remarkable is that the technology can be implemented in a single, low-cost CMOS chip that - along with the appropriate proprietary Canesta software - can bring "electronic perception technology" to a wide range of low cost consumer and industrial electronic products.
"Optronic's outstanding expertise in optical and electronic system design, combined with its service-oriented business model and local European presence, make it an ideal partner for large organizations that need customized 3-D time-of-flight system solutions based on our unique single-chip CMOS technology," said Jim Spare, Canesta CEO. "This relationship enables us to expand the reach of our technology into Europe."
Optronic's agreement with Canesta means that Optronic is ready to serve European companies wanting to explore the opportunities of Time of Flight and how it can be integrated with their products. We expect demand to be high and rise rapidly since the technology will most definitely grant early adopters great competitive advantages. We chose to work with Canesta because of its technology and the price/performance advantage of their unique standard CMOS approach, says Rickard Åström, CEO Optronic.
About Optronic
Optronic is a Swedish leading service company within the field of optronics, focusing on integrated development and manufacturing. We serve companies all around the world that offer high-technology products for industry. Optronic offers a complete range of development-, manufacturing- and outsourcing-services in the technical field of optronics, all adapted to the customer's needs.Our services are based on well- established and efficient cooperation models, working models and, most important, our highly skilled staff. By using our competence in optronics, product development and manufacturing we make our customers more successful. The common goal for our customers is the determination to enforce an international leadership for their venture and their industrial products. They are also convinced that products based on optronics sub-systems in combination with secured intellectual property rights (IPR) will strengthen their competitiveness. Optronic was established in 1974, the company is privately owned and located in Stockholm, Skelleftea, and Gothenburg. www.optronic.com
About Canesta
Canesta is the inventor of revolutionary, low-cost electronic perception technology that enables ordinary electronic devices in consumer, security, industrial, medical, automotive, factory automation, gaming, military, and many other applications, to perceive and react to objects or individuals in real time. When given true, fine-grained 3-dimensional depth perception with Canesta's unique CanestaVision™ electronic perception chips and software, such products can gain functionality and ease of use not possible in an era when such devices were blind.Numerous applications are under active development by Canesta's OEM customers and partners, including building automation, security, robotics, automotive, and others.
Canesta was founded in April 1999, and is located in San Jose, CA. The company has filed in excess of fifty patents, 39 of which have been granted so far. Investment to date exceeds $58 million, from Carlyle Venture Partners, Honda Motor Company, Hotung Capital Management, Korea Global IT Fund (KGIF), Venrock Associates and others.
