Smart Homes, Offices & Spaces

Interactive Radial Controller

Despite the fact that controllers for smart home/office systems can come in different forms, shapes or functionalities, the chip characteristics and the science behind them could be quite similar. With the right sensor chip, the appropriate developing capabilities and a great sense of imagination, you will be surprised what a vast range of applications you are opened to implement.

PixArt’s Optical Tracking Sensor (OTS) Technology has had long-time success records in helping our A-list customers to convert innovative lab ideas into cutting-edge smart home/office control devices. Ranging from trackballs, interactive radial controllers to smart thermostats, our state-of-art OTS chips with strong detection mechanism, advanced algorithms, well-supported built-in’s and low-power-consumption designs have provided our customers the unbeatable basis to deliver only the best outcomes – a reliable and fast-responding high-tech controller to win users’ hearts.

Below are the key features of our OTS technology that support the development of various smart controllers.
● Zero or 90-degree sensing angles - to cater various control needs
● Built-in auto-surface-tracking algorithms - no need to implement additional code strips
● Low-power architecture - to extend usability on battery-powered devices
● High sensitivity - to detect even the slightest movement
● Ultimately high resolution of up to 2000cpi (count per inch)

Feel free to contact us for more support options or requests to tailor our highly-adaptive OTS IC chips according to your development needs. For more information about our smart controlling ideas, please see "Smart Devices" or visit our product pages to the left.

Smart Thermostat

PixArt’s Optical Tracking Sensor (OTS) Technology may be utilized in various rotary applications, and a radial dial Smart Thermostat can be one of the most conspicuous applications among them all. Almost every integrated-it-all smart home control providers face the same design challenge for maintaining a clean and minimal look for their sophisticated controller, so as soon as PixArt's PMT9123QS-TVIT product that supports rotary command is unveiled, it immediately changed the game. The designers are offered with a new type of stress-free control method that does not complicate the look of the smart device controller, and end users are able to control their smart home settings in a more intuitive way.

PixArt's OTS chip is built with low-power architecture and is perfect to be adopted on battery powered devices. With up to 2000cpi of resolution to lift its sensitivity level, the chip is able to detect even the slightest motion change. On top of its advanced sensing technology, PixArt’s OTS series offers full support and flexibility to assist our customers’ development works. The OTS sensors can directly track the detection surface and returns both x- and y- axis displacement information, and therefore leave no need for software developers to implement additional code strips. Chip packages that support flat (0-degree) or perpendicular (90-degree) detection angles are both available in order to cater for different (vertical or horizontal) input reading requirements.

For more information regarding our smart controlling ideas, you may check our other application pages, or visit the related OTS product pages to the left.

Gesture Controlled Smart Home Systems

Imagine that you are lying in your cozy bed at night after finished a chapter of your favorite book and ready to sleep. Wouldn’t it be nice to switch your sleep time music, turn off your little lamp, or even make a goodnight call through a quick hand wave, without having to move an inch of your body? This is the reason why gesture control technology is one of the key development areas for sensors in recent years - to make everyone's lives more convenient in every household through simple standalone appliances.

Let’s take the above-mentioned smart lamps for instance. Smart lamps are invented to be placed next to a bed, a baby cot or anywhere in need of convenience. A higher-end smart lamp cannot only recognize user gestures that are within certain detection ranges, it can also support mobile app control options and Bluetooth connectivity for extended usability. These compact, gesture-controlled smart devices are generally intuitive to operate, reasonable in price and are known to immediately enhance their users’ life qualities through a limited level or zero installation. With the increasing number of built-in features integrated into these smart home devices, their core capabilities (i.e. the IC chips that support every functions around them) are undoubtedly critical to product success.

PixArt offers a range of gesture recognition IC products that provide various gesture-control functionalities for smart home devices, electronics, infotainment system, wearables and AR/VR's. PixArt's Gesture Recognition products are built in small form factor, low power consumption level and are capable of identifying up to 9 hand gestures. It is worth noting that the technology support gesture recognition under complete darkness, so users can still initiate or operate the devices even when there are no light in the room (e.g. in midnight). We also provide our customers with the option to configure standby mode settings during system implementation stage to facilitate power-saving or certain project goals.

Please visit the product pages to the left for more information of PixArt's Gesture Recognition technology, or please contact us for details.

Touch Pad or Navigation Pad on Remote Controllers

As smart home and office devices gain widespread popularity, many of the tech-savvy consumers are long for a new control solution that can integrate sophisticated commands on one single handheld remote. Although the universal remote controllers released years ago have been serving part of the demand, but as more intelligent devices joined our smart home/office systems, it becomes much more difficult for mechanical designers and end users to decipher through the eye-dazzling buttons on the conventional universal controllers.

Luckily, the problem can be solved with a little help from some readily available sensing technology – touchpad or navigation pads. By incorporating a medium-sized touchpad (like the one on your laptop) or a small navigation pad (works like a trackball) on an universal remote controller that pairs up with a smart TV, many of the cramming physical buttons can be ditched for a much cleaner and sleek look. The new elegant and minimal design will also appeal to light users in the market who value both aesthetic and intuitive control of their smart devices.

PixArt has continued to supply a variety of smart controlling chips to many of the remote-making customers by virtue of our high-quality products that have low-power architecture, strong library support, reliable performance and cost competitiveness. To find out more about our Capacitive Finger Navigation and Optical Finger Navigation technology, please visit relevant product pages for more information.

Touchpad on Presentation Pointers

Touchpads can be combined with presentation pointers to facilitate multi-tasking and distant-control functions.

More than just an infrared pointer or a page switcher as most conventional pointers serve, touchpad-incorporated pointers can do a lot more from clicking links on slides to switching presentation for desktop views. Through the appropriate integration of software and hardware, presenters who stand up to 10 meters away from the projector-connected laptops/PC's will be able to perform various actions as if they are using their computer mice.

With the maximum built-in support in place, we are ready to wow your developing experience with PixArt’s CFN (Capacitive Finger Navigation) chips. Key features of our touchpad technology include:
● Low power consumption architecture
● PTP Compatibility
● Register-based ROM data access mechanism - developed to support direct firmware registration, minimize implementation effort and reduce testing times
● Configurable versatile registers - for performance fine-tuning at customers’ side
● Support of gesture-control libraries
● Available in turnkey solution (include functions of both BLE/2.4GHz chip + touch chip)

For more information, please visit our CFN product pages to the left.

Infrared Tracker/ Trackee Components

A set of tracker/trackee components built with simple sensory concepts can make ordinary appliances much more convenient, smarter, or even greener. A trackee, an infrared emitter, can be made into the small standalone device to be carried by the user or as part of a smart remote controller, and a tracker, generally placed at a fixed location within detectable distance from the trackee, is responsible for identifying the movement of the trackee. Some application examples which utilize the tracker/trackee concept are as below.

● Fans or air-conditioners with built-in infrared trackers can automatically adjust their venting direction towards the trackees at all times. As a result, users who carry or sit near the paired-up trackee devices will be able to enjoy 100% of the chill from continuous airflow without the need to cool down the entire room.
● An infrared-tracker-incorporated camera stand, also known as a dynamic camera tracking system, can automatically follow and film a moving person (e.g. a teacher, a presenter, a streamer) who carries a trackee in the pocket. This allows complete and focused footage to be made without the presence of cameramen.

PixArt’s MOT (Multiple Objects Tracking) modules can achieve the above-mentioned applications through precise and outstanding tracking ability. With the advanced built-in algorithms to filter unwanted environmental noises and the flexibility to enable parameter configuration from the system-development level, our MOT modules continue to exceed market expectations in both hardware and software engineering.

To find out more about PixArt's exciting MOT technology, please visit the related product pages to the left. Or, you may get into contact with us through our Support pages.

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