Canesta

Infobox_Company
company_name = Canesta, Inc.
company_
company_type = Private
foundation = 1999
location_city = flagicon|USA Sunnyvale, California
location_country = USA
key_people = Jim Spare, CEO
Abbas Rafii, Executive VP
Cyrus Bamji, CTO
Patrick O'Connor, VP Eng.
Sakuya Morimoto, Sr. Dir. Asia
Alan Beale, Director Bus Dev
Albert Lee, VP Finance
num_employees = 30+ (2008)
industry = Fabless Semiconductor
products = 3D CMOS Image sensors
homepage = [http://www.canesta.com/ www.canesta.com]

History

Canesta is a fabless semiconductor company founded in April of 1999 by Cyrus Bamji, Abbas Rafii, and Nazim Kareemi.Marriott, Michel (September 19, 2002). [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00E5D71230F93AA2575AC0A9649C8B63 “No Keys, Just Soft Light and You”] . "The New York Times". ] [http://www.sensorsmag.com/sensors/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=373812 “Honda invests in Canesta”] . (September 21, 2006). "Sensors".]

The company launched publicly at PC Forum in 2002, announcing its CMOS-based single chip 3D image sensing technology.Shim, Richard (March 25, 2002). [http://news.cnet.com/Start-up-adds-depth-to-3D-imaging/2100-1040_3-867631.html “Start-up adds depth to 3D imaging”] . "CNET News".] [Rupley, Sebastian (August 10, 2004). [http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1634183,00.asp “Canesta: Bringing Sight to Devices”] . "PC Magazine".] Described as “electronic perception technology”, the company promotes its technology as enabling everyday machines and digital devices with the ability to “see.” [Arnst, Catherine, ed. (April 15, 2002). [http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_15/c3778084.htm “The Vision Thing Gets Closer for Computers”] . "Business Week".] [Baig, Edward C. (September 24, 2002). [http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2002-09-24-baig_x.htm “New technologies showcase the not-too-distant future”] . "USA Today".]

In 2002, at Demo Mobile the company announced its first application, a projection keyboard for mobile devices. In this application, a keyboard made of light is projected onto a flat surface, the user types on the flat surface, and Canesta’s electronic perception technology translates finger movements into keystrokes in the device. [Hesseldahl, Arik (September 18, 2002). [http://www.forbes.com/2002/09/18/0918tentech.html “Typing on the table”] . "Forbes".] [Shiels, Maggie (October 15, 2002). [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/sci_tech/2000/dot_life/2326077.stm “The keyboard that isn’t there”] . "BBC News".] The company subsequently licensed the technology to Celluon of Korea.Kanellos, Michael (September 19, 2006). [http://news.cnet.com/Honda-investing-in-chips-to-help-cars-see/2100-11389_3-6117385.html “Honda investing in chips to help cars see"] . "CNET News".]

The company later focused on the automotive applications of its technology, [Kanellos, Michael (August 9, 2004). [http://news.cnet.com/Eye-robot-Start-up-offers-vision-to-machines/2100-1008_3-5302640.html "Eye robot: Start-up offers vision to machines. Some work to bring eyesight to blind people. Canesta works to bring it to cars and automatic doors”] . "CNET News".] Maloney, Lawrence D. (March 19, 2007). [http://www.designnews.com/article/11614-Drumbeat_Quickens_for_Safer_Cars.php “Drumbeat Quickens for Safer Cars”] . "Design News".] securing investment from Honda, and promoting its technology at public automotive industry forums such as Convergence 2006. Interior occupant sensing for advanced airbag deployment and rear obstacle detection are two example applications.

The company recently turned its attention to the video game space where its technology forms the basis of a unique input mechanism that enables new immersive game experiences. [http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS82595+15-Apr-2008+PRN20080415 “Tower Semiconductor ramps production of Canesta’s breakthrough 3D image sensors”] . (April 15, 2008). Press release.] [ [http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS152335+21-Feb-2008+BW20080221 “Game developers to benefit from Canesta’s 3D camera – Softkinetic’s 3D software collaboration”] . (February 21, 2008). Press release.]

Jim Spare is the company’s current CEO, and the founders remain active in the management of the company.

Finances

The company has raised $58 Million to date in subsequent rounds of investment.

The company’s investors include The Carlyle Group, Venrock Associates, KGIF, Hotung Capital, Honda Motor Company, Ltd., and Optex, Ltd.

Products

Canesta provides its electronic perception technology in the form of CMOS 3D image sensors to multiple OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) markets, including consumer electronics, video gaming, automotive, security, and industrial.

The company also provides reference designs, functioning sensor modules, and developer’s toolkits.

Technology

Canesta’s time of flight technology consists of an array of pixels where every pixel can independently determine the distance to the object it sees. This array is in effect a massively parallel LIDAR on a single CMOS chip. At the heart of the technology is a proprietary silicon photo collection structure in each pixel that allows accurate measurement of the arrival time of the collected photons. This photo collection structure is substantially immune to CMOS surface defects that ordinarily adversely affect time of flight operation. This enables time of flight ranging using a low cost CMOS process. [Spare, James (August, 2004). [http://archives.sensorsmag.com/articles/0804/32/main.shtml “Machine vision: Adding the Third Dimension. Electronic perception technology is a new way to make direct, rather than derived, depth measurements of target objects”] . "Sensors".] Wilson, Andrew (July 1, 2004). [http://www.vision-systems.com/display_article/207872/19/none/none/Techt/CMOS-single-chip-sensor-captures-3-D-images “CMOS single-chip sensor captures 3-D images”] . "Vision Systems".]

Using Canesta technology a 3D camera can be constructed from: 1) a Canesta CMOS time of flight sensor, 2) an imaging lens to focus the light from the scene onto the sensor and 3) an LED or laser diode based light source controlled by the sensor to illuminate the scene with near infrared light.

References

Further Reading

* May, Mike (December, 2002). [http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=type-it-anywhere “Type It Anywhere”] . "Scientific American". Subscription only.
* Vance, Ashlee (March 28, 2002). [http://archives.cnn.com/2002/TECH/ptech/03/28/seeing.pcs.idg/ “The digital illusion: PCs that can see?”] . CNN.com.
* [http://www.weforum.org/en/Communities/Technology%20Pioneers/SelectedTechPioneers/2003TechPioneers/wefAboutUsTechPioneers2003 “World Economic Forum Names 40 Technology Pioneers from 10 Countries for 2003”] . World Economic Forum.
* Merritt, Rick (March 25, 2002). [http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20020325S0018 “CMOS sensor detects 3-D images for mobile apps”] . "EE Times".
* [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/login.jsp?url=/iel5/6/23652/01088457.pdf?arnumber=1088457 "When work is fun and games"] . "IEEE Spectrum".
* "Start-Up Canesta to Display Virtual Projector Keyboard". (September 18, 2002). "Wall Street Journal". Subscription only.
* "Technologic Names Top Ten Startups at Wireless Ventures". (May 1, 2002). "VentureWire". Subscription only.

External Links

* [http://www.canesta.com Canesta (official website)]
* [http://www.celluon.com Celluon (official website)]