IDENT Technology AG announces license partnership with Infineon Technologies AG

Wessling, Germany – April, 20 2009 –IDENT Technology of Wessling close to Munich has signed up Infineon as a license partner from the semiconductor industry. With this partnership, Infineon Technologies headquartered in Neubiberg increases its commitment in the area of application-specific chips for game consoles and PC peripherals, such as computer mice and keyboards. Within this cooperation Infineon is developing a sensor chip that allows recognition and evaluation of movements and gestures that could until now only be detected at considerably greater technical effort and cost. Infineon is already an established supplier of custom specific Integrated Circuits for these applications.

“Our development has the potential to revolutionize the man-machine interface. It can sense and evaluate movement, position and speed at low cost and due to no moving parts will be inherently maintenance-free. This is unique in the market, and above all, it is attractive for high-volume applications,” says Christian Burrer, Senior Director in the Industry & Multi-market segment at Infineon. “Electronic devices can thus be controlled simply and intuitively by natural movements.”

One key advantage of the new sensor chip will be the greatly simplified production of the terminal unit. For instance, the new technology is supposed to replace the strain gauges that have been used up to now to detect movement or shift of weight. These are so far assembled by hand in a costly individual manufacturing process. By contrast, with this new technology, the sensors are part of the printed circuit board on which the chip is mounted. Therefore no additional steps in the manufacturing process are required. The new chip will also significantly reduce the time for calibration below 100 milliseconds. Comparable applications today require a calibration time of more than a second.

Infineon will license a number of patents from IDENT Technology. “With technology based on our Intellectual Property, a completely new generation of products for the private and industrial sectors becomes feasible,” explains Peter Rosenbeck, CEO of IDENT Technology. “The sensor chip enables the implementation of low energy, maintenance-free contactless buttons, joy-sticks, steering-wheels and other control elements for PCs and game consoles. Interaction and communication can be controlled solely through gestures, body movements or shifting of weight.”

First evaluation samples will be presented by Infineon in fall 2009. First products using this new sensor-technology could come on the market by first half of 2010.

IDENT Technology AG, based in Wessling near Munich, is a worldwide technological leader in the field of data transmission in capacitive near-field and gesture-supported man-machine control and markets its know-how via licensing. The patented basic technologies SKINPLEX®, GestIC®, Ultra-low-power proximity detection ULPP and zeropower® revolutionise existing areas of application for signal transmission and, among other things and as the world’s first system to do so, provide for a non-contact anti-trap facility for all automatic closing systems. More than 160 patents have currently been applied for, nine patents thereof and several utility models have been granted.

IDENT Technology AG
Press & Marketing
Argelsrieder Feld 5
82234 Wessling

Tel. +49 (0) 8153.88 96 90
Fax +49 (0) 8153.88 96 99
Email presse@ident-technology.com
http://www.ident-technology.com

This release was published on openPR.