uSensAR, the Smartphone Augmented Reality Engine, to Enable up to Two Billion Android Smartphones Users to Experience AR for the First Time

LAS VEGAS and SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CES 2018 -- uSens, Inc., a pioneer in HCI and computer vision tracking solutions for augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), today announced the availability of uSensAR, a smartphone augmented reality (AR) engine. uSensAR is a single camera, smartphone AR engine that is optimized for low-end cameras, sensors and IMUs. It utilizes computer vision, machine learning, SLAM and smartphone hardware to bring high-performance AR experiences to all Android smartphone users, not just those with expensive, top-tier hardware.

As part of this announcement, uSens has partnered with Spreadtrum Communications (Spreadtrum), a leading SOC company. uSensAR has enabled AR camera effects for the native camera app for the Spreadtrum SC9853 chipset platform, which is expected to sell hundreds of millions of smartphones in 2018, bringing AR experiences to those users for the first time.

"ARcore currently only serves about 30 million Android phones, which is just five percent of the entire Android smartphone ecosystem," said Dr. Yue Fei, uSens CTO and co-founder. "For the AR industry to thrive, it is essential that as many people as possible have access to AR-ready devices, which in turn will entice more AR content to be developed. With the release of uSensAR, we are allowing developers, smartphone manufacturers, and content creators to build those AR experiences not just for iPhone, Pixel and Samsung S8 users – which ARkit and ARcore have limited their offering to initially – but for the entire Android ecosystem."

Unlike other AR engines and frameworks, uSensAR is optimized for mid- and low-tier phones, with even better performance on high-end smartphone models. It is extremely resilient to poor camera, IMU and sensor data, while remaining flexible to integrate with all Android smartphones. Powered by SLAM technology, a series of computations and algorithms that constructs a virtual map of an environment, this markerless approach tracks a user's location by continuously scanning and 'learning' about their environment via computer vision. A user's position can then be tracked in unknown and changing environments, which enables 'World Scale' tracking, for a truly mobile experience.

Spreadtrum is a leading fabless semiconductor company in China with advanced technology in 3G and 4G wireless communication standards. With 14nm 8-core 64-bit Intel Airmont processor architecture, Spreadtrum SC9853 reaches 1.8 GHz in dominant frequency, and possesses efficient mobile computing performance and ultra-low power dissipation management.

"2018 is the year where we really expect to see augmented reality show its true capabilities, and we are seeing increased demand for AR-ready phones among our customer base accordingly," said Adam Zeng, Global Executive Vice President of Tsinghua Unigroup and CEO of Spreadtrum. "Spreadtrum has been committed to providing differentiated and diversified product portfolios for consumers all over the globe. We are excited to publish this mobile AR solution together with uSens, which is another excellent example of our premium solution integrating leading technologies and optimal benefits."

uSensAR features include:

• Mobile, inside-out motion tracking
• Visual Inertial Odometry (VIO) which utilizes IMU and camera sensors for motion tracking
• Low CPU and battery consumption
• Markerless tracking
• Advanced plane detection technology
• Environmental understanding via SLAM technology
• Loop closure and relocalization
• Millimeter-level position accuracy 
• 100% developed in-house, specifically for mobile
• Support for Unity, C++ and Java

uSensAR is available to demo at CES. An SDK will be available by mid-2018.

Visit us at CES, Booth #21723:
LVCC South Hall 1, Gaming & Virtual Reality Marketplace, from January 9-12

About uSens, Inc.
uSens is a pioneer in 3D HCI technology that is changing how we interact with next-generation technology forever. Our team possesses decades of domain experience in computer vision and artificial intelligence acquired at companies like Apple, Samsung and Intel. We provide augmented & virtual reality, automotive, and IoT companies with the most natural, intuitive and immersive interactive solutions.

Our pioneering inside-out, 26DOF (degrees of freedom) hand-tracking technology is a breakthrough in HCI allowing users to control virtual worlds with their bare hands. Our inside-out 6DOF positional tracking solution based on SLAM technology is a key component in building immersive AR/VR experiences. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Silicon Valley with additional offices in China, uSens has raised $26.6M in VC funding to date. Contact us at [email protected], visit us at www.usens.com, and follow us at @usensinc.

About Spreadtrum Communications: As an affiliate of Tsinghua Unigroup, Ltd, Spreadtrum Communications is a fabless semiconductor company that develops mobile chipset platforms for smartphones, feature phones and other consumer electronics products, supporting 2G, 3G and 4G wireless communications standards. Spreadtrum's solutions combine its highly integrated, power-efficient chipsets with customizable software and reference designs in a complete turnkey platform, enabling customers to achieve faster design cycles with a lower development cost. Spreadtrum's customers include global and China-based manufacturers developing mobile products for consumers in China and emerging markets around the world. For more information, visit www.spreadtrum.com.

Media Contact:
uSens US
William McCormick
Email: [email protected]

uSens China
Heidi Liu
Email: [email protected] 
Tel: +86 17704026632

Spreadtrum
Kathy.zhou
Email: [email protected] 
Tel: +86-21-2036-0600 x1120

SOURCE uSens, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.usens.com