Himax and Useful Sensors Join Forces to Bring “AI Interfaces for Everyday Objects” to CES 2023

Rhea-AI Summary

Himax Technologies (NASDAQ: HIMX) has announced a partnership with Useful Sensors Inc., founded by former Google tech lead Pete Warden. At CES 2023, they will showcase AI appliances using Useful Sensors’ Person and Gesture Sensors integrated with Himax's WiseEye™ technology. These smart devices include applications like the Smart Air Cooler and Face-Following Robot, aimed at enhancing everyday interactions. The Person/Gesture Sensor, priced at $10, offers low-cost, efficient functionality to recognize gestures and faces without compromising user privacy, marking an important step in the adoption of AI in consumer electronics.

Positive

• Collaboration with Useful Sensors enhances Himax's position in the growing AI market.
• Showcasing innovative applications at CES 2023 could attract new business opportunities.
• WiseEye technology enables low power consumption, enhancing product appeal.
• The Person/Gesture Sensor is affordably priced at $10, broadening market access.

Negative

• None.

Pete Warden, Former Tech Lead of TensorFlow at Google, Founds Useful Sensors Inc. and Teams Up with Himax Jointly Developing tinyML AI Endpoint Applications

TAINAN, Taiwan and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Dec. 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Himax Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: HIMX) (“Himax” or “Company”), a leading supplier and fabless manufacturer of display drivers and other semiconductor products, and Useful Sensors Inc., an AI innovation company, today announced they will jointly showcase “AI Interfaces for Everyday Objects” endpoint AI appliances incorporating Useful Sensors’ Person Sensor and Gesture Sensor, embedded with Himax WiseEye™ Smart Image Sensing solution (“WiseEye”), at CES 2023 from January 5 – 8, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Useful Sensors was founded in 2022 by Pete Warden, a founding member of Google’s TensorFlow open-source machine learning framework and part of Google’s Brain research group. Useful Sensors has created a series of low-cost, easy to integrate hardware modules that bring ML capabilities such as gesture recognition, presence detection, and voice interfaces to everyday objects while preserving users’ privacy.

At CES, Himax and Useful Sensors will offer live demonstrations featuring the Smart Air Cooler, TV Hand Gesture Controller, and Face-Following Robot applications. These applications adopt Useful Sensors’ Person/Gesture Sensor module solutions embedded with Himax ultralow power WiseEye solution, which incorporates Himax proprietary WE1 AI processor and always-on CMOS (“AoS”) image sensor. At just $10, the Person/Gesture Sensor is a low-cost hardware module with small form factor that can detect nearby peoples’ faces and hand gestures, perform facial and gesture recognition, and return information such as the number of people and their location relative to the device.

“Himax’s WiseEye technology plays a vital role in allowing us to do what we do best, build smarter devices that improve peoples’ everyday lives through smarter interfaces,” said Pete Warden, CEO and Founder of Useful Sensors. “With the superb power efficiency and tinyML performance possible through the adoption of WiseEye, we can quickly expand across a diverse array of applications featuring new AI use cases in areas such as motion sensing, face following and gesture control in smart home appliances. We couldn’t be more excited to be working with an established leader in AI processing and to bring our neomodern applications to CES.”

“The collaboration with Useful Sensors, led by well-respected industry executive Pete Warden, is a testament not only to our capabilities, but also our commitment to engage global and diversified endpoint AI use cases,” said Mark Chen, Vice President of WiseEye Smart Image Sensing business at Himax. “We look forward to putting our expertise on display at the CES this year by demonstrating how our ultralow power AI technologies can be leveraged by partners, such as Useful Sensors, to create applications focused on significantly improving people’s daily lives.”

The WiseEye solution incorporates Himax’s proprietary ultralow power AI processor, AoS CMOS image sensor, and CNN-based tinyML AI algorithm developed from Himax in-house team and/or third-party algorithm partners. The solution, which features ultralow power tinyML and tiny form factor, is broadly adopted in diverse AI applications, such as laptop, automatic meter reading, shared bike parking, smart office/home, and surveillance with mass production already underway in some areas.

Himax and Useful Sensors invite all interested parties to stop by their exhibition booth at the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel (3400 Paradise Road, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA) Suite 1230 to experience cutting-edge AI innovation in realizing “AI Interfaces for Everyday Objects”. To schedule a meeting or booth tour, please contact Himax at: hx_CES@himax.com.tw.

About Useful Sensors Inc.

Useful Sensors Inc builds small, low-cost hardware modules that provide AI interfaces like voice, gestures, and presence to everyday consumer electronics. They were founded in March 2022, released their first Person Sensor product (usfl.ink/ps) in October 2022 for $10 retail, and their roadmap includes using hand gestures to control TVs and other appliances, and adding on-device voice interfaces to devices around the home. Their unique technology allows them to offer these capabilities in a completely private way, with no sensitive information like audio or video shared to the cloud, and a design that protects user data even if the rest of the system is compromised. These privacy features have been checked by third parties like Kudelski Security and respond directly to consumer concerns about spying. They are based in Mountain View, California, and backed by top Silicon Valley venture capital investors like Amplify, Bloomberg Beta, Fika, and AIX.

https://usefulsensors.com

About Himax Technologies, Inc.

Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIMX) is a fabless semiconductor solution provider dedicated to display imaging processing technologies. Himax is a worldwide market leader in display driver ICs and timing controllers used in TVs, laptops, monitors, mobile phones, tablets, automotive, digital cameras, car navigation, virtual reality (VR) devices and many other consumer electronics devices. Additionally, Himax designs and provides controllers for touch sensor displays, in-cell Touch and Display Driver Integration (TDDI) single-chip solutions, AMOLED ICs, LED driver ICs, power management ICs and LCoS micro-displays for augmented reality (AR) devices and heads-up displays (HUD) for automotive. The Company also offers CMOS image sensors, wafer level optics for AR devices, 3D sensing and ultralow power WiseEye™ smart image sensing, which are used in a wide variety of applications such as mobile phone, tablet, laptop, TV, PC camera, automobile, security, medical device, home appliance, AIoT, etc. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Tainan, Taiwan, Himax currently employs around 2,100 people from three Taiwan-based offices in Tainan, Hsinchu and Taipei and country offices in China, Korea, Japan, German, and the US. Himax has 2,980 patents granted and 417 patents pending approval worldwide as of September 30, 2022. Himax has retained its position as the leading display imaging processing semiconductor solution provider to consumer electronics brands worldwide.

https://www.himax.com.tw

Forward Looking Statements

Factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in this conference call include, but are not limited to, the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Company’s business; general business and economic conditions and the state of the semiconductor industry; market acceptance and competitiveness of the driver and non-driver products developed by the Company; demand for end-use applications products; reliance on a small group of principal customers; the uncertainty of continued success in technological innovations; our ability to develop and protect our intellectual property; pricing pressures including declines in average selling prices; changes in customer order patterns; changes in estimated full-year effective tax rate; shortage in supply of key components; changes in environmental laws and regulations; changes in export license regulated by Export Administration Regulations (EAR); exchange rate fluctuations; regulatory approvals for further investments in our subsidiaries; our ability to collect accounts receivable and manage inventory and other risks described from time to time in the Company's SEC filings, including those risks identified in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in its Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC, as may be amended.

Useful Sensors Contact:

Useful Sensors Inc.
Tel: +1 805 813 7571
Email: contact@usefulsensors.com
https://usefulsensors.com

Himax Contacts:

Eric Li, Chief IR/PR Officer
Himax Technologies, Inc.
Tel: +886-6-505-0880
Fax: +886-2-2314-0877
Email: hx_ir@himax.com.tw
www.himax.com.tw

Karen Tiao, Investor Relations
Himax Technologies, Inc.
Tel: +886-2-2370-3999
Fax: +886-2-2314-0877
Email: hx_ir@himax.com.tw
www.himax.com.tw

Mark Schwalenberg, Director
Investor Relations - US Representative
MZ North America
Tel: +1-312-261-6430
Email: HIMX@mzgroup.us
www.mzgroup.us

FAQ

What is Himax Technologies' latest partnership announcement?

Himax Technologies has partnered with Useful Sensors Inc. to develop AI endpoint applications, showcased at CES 2023.

What products will Himax and Useful Sensors showcase at CES 2023?

They will showcase AI appliances like the Smart Air Cooler and Face-Following Robot using WiseEye technology.

What is the price and functionality of the Person/Gesture Sensor?

The Person/Gesture Sensor is priced at $10 and can recognize gestures and faces while ensuring user privacy.

Who is behind Useful Sensors Inc.?

Useful Sensors was founded by Pete Warden, a former tech lead at Google’s TensorFlow project.

How do Himax's WiseEye and Useful Sensors' technology work together?

WiseEye technology enhances the functionality of Useful Sensors' hardware modules, enabling efficient AI processing for smart devices.