Imagination and partners deliver products to drive the next generation of mobile lifestyles at MWC 2014

PowerVR, MIPS and Ensigma processors at the heart of the latest devices enabling wearables, smartphones and more

London, UK – 3^rd March, 2014 – Imagination Technologies (IMG.L) reports notable new silicon devices and mobile products using its range of SoC IP processors at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2014 in Barcelona, which concluded on February 27^th.

Imagination’s technologies were at the heart of a broad range of products from the latest mobile phones and tablets to IoT (internet of things) and wearables, and also enabled exciting applications for imaging, augmented reality, gaming and more, which were demonstrated at the show.

New Imagination IP products unveiled at MWC 2014 included:

• PowerVR V2500, the first imaging processor IP core based on the innovative PowerVR Raptor architecture
• PowerVR GX6650, the powerful GPU which redefines performance in mobile with 192 built-in processing cores
• MIPS Warrior M5100 and M5150 processors, the world’s first MCU-class CPU IP cores with hardware virtualization, which provide advanced security and reliability for wearables, IoT and more

Says Tony King-Smith, EVP marketing at Imagination: “We’ve talked about emerging trends such as wearables, IoT and smart cameras for some time now, and we have made considerable investments to develop a complementary IP portfolio that enables these products to get to market at every possible price and performance point. By leveraging our industry-leading technologies, our customers are set to drive the next wave of mobile innovation.”

Powering the mobile lifestyle of tomorrow

At MWC, Imagination demonstrated an advanced GPU accelerated VP9 software decoder for its industry-leading PowerVR Series6 Rogue GPUs. With the decoder, developed in collaboration with Imagination’s strategic partner MulticoreWare, existing products with PowerVR Series6 GPUs can play content using Google’s VP9, a high-performance codec that addresses HD and 4K video, and will be used for YouTube, Google Hangouts and other web-based video applications.

Imagination also gave the first, exclusive, public demonstration of 3DMark’s Cloud Gate benchmark test running on mobile hardware with PowerVR Series6 Rogue GPUs. 3DMark Cloud Gate is a new OpenGL ES 3.0 benchmark for mobile platforms from Futuremark, a leading provider of high-performance benchmarking software.

PowerVR graphics were also featured in many of the latest mobile application processor SoCs, including:

• Broadcom’s M320 and M340
• Intel’s Z34xx (Merrifield) and Z35xx (Moorefield) with PowerVR Series6 GPUs with full OpenCL support
• MediaTek’s MT8135 and MT6595 which features PowerVR Series6 and an LTE modem targeting mobile phone and tablet markets
• Allwinner Technologies’ A80, which packs a PowerVR Series6 GPU with 64 built-in processing cores
• Actions’ OWL ATM7021, ATM7039 and ATM7029B chipsets which leverage Imagination’s PowerVR graphics to deliver compelling performance in devices including the Ramos K6 and Ainol Spark II tablets

Demonstrations of new applications on PowerVR included Advanced Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) apps from ViewAR, including novel headgear prototypes that enable anyone with a PowerVR powered smartphone to experience advanced immersive AR and VR experiences; as well as Hipix® advanced still image technology that utilizes existing hardware video support to provide still image users with impressive performance, quality and efficiency – leveraging PowerVR video processors (VPUs) for accelerated GPixel image processing and navigation.

Altair Semiconductor unveiled its newest LTE-Advanced baseband processor, the FourGee-3802 that features a MIPS CPU and is software upgradable to support Release 11 specifications. The FourGee-3802 is the third generation of Altair’s LTE chipsets, following the FourGee-3800 (Category 4), and FourGee-3100 (Category 3) processors. The FourGee-3100 powers many of the world’s single-mode LTE devices including Verizon Wireless’ Ellipsis 7 tablet, the HP Chromebook 11.6” LTE and the Yota WiFi Dongle.

Sequans showed its newest LTE platform — the Cassiopeia LTE-Advanced Platform — which features a MIPS CPU and is fully compliant with 3GPP Release 10 specifications and is software upgradeable to Release 11. Sequans also teamed with Alcatel-Lucent S.A. to show carrier aggregation and LTE broadcast on Sequans’ MIPS-based platforms.

Lantiq showed its Lantiq DSLTE™ technology, which enables carriers to offer combined DSL and LTE to achieve high data rates. The Lantiq DSLTE technology is based on a Lantiq reference design incorporating a MIPS CPU, and combines a bonded VDSL broadband access link with an additional LTE access link in a single residential gateway.

Nevales Wireless announced and demonstrated its next generation cloud security gateway appliance ‘Aquamarine,’ which uses a MIPS-based processor. According to Nevales, because it is built on the MIPS architecture, the energy efficiency of the new device has improved over Nevales’ previous generation products, consuming approximately 140mW per GHz under full load.

Wearables and IoT

SpeedUp Technology announced its first wearable technology product, the SpeedUp SmartWatch, a revolutionary wearable device which incorporates an ultra-low power MIPS-based CPU which enables the new SmartWatch to be highly power-efficient while running Google’s latest Android 4.4 ‘KitKat’ operating system.

Wearables-focused startup Ineda, a company bringing together various Imagination IP cores, including PowerVR GPUs and MIPS CPUs, demonstrated its ultra-low power Wearable Processor Unit (WPU) SoCs which deliver exceptional low power consumption.

Imagination also demonstrated Microchip Technology’s new 32-bit PIC32MZ microcontrollers that feature class-leading performance and code density with the MIPS microAptiv core, and are ideal for wearables and IoT.

Imagination showed the new Toshiba TZ5000 series applications processors that integrate multiple Imagination IP cores including a PowerVR GPU and VPU, as well as Ensigma Series4 radio communications processor (RPU) for 802.11ac 2x2 functionality. Target applications of the TZ5000 include wearable devices, as well as over-the-top (OTT) tuners, IP media boxes, digital signage, thin client terminal devices and more.

Also on display were Toumaz’ solutions for the SensiumVitals® System, an ultra-low power wireless patch remotely managed via Imagination’s FlowCloud technology. The system comprises light-weight, wearable, single patient use patches that monitor hospital patients’ heart-rate, respiration rate and temperature every two minutes, and wirelessly communicate those vital signs via a bridge to the nurse station or via the cloud to any web-enabled device.

Automotive

Imagination and Mobileye announced that Mobileye will leverage Imagination’s MIPS Aptiv and Series5 Warrior CPU cores in its next-generation designs for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Imagination’s MIPS multi-threaded interAptiv cores will provide the real-time response, Quality of Service (QoS) and reliability needed to efficiently perform multiple simultaneous operations across the numerous Vision Processors (VP) in the Mobileye system. In addition, new MIPS Warrior M-class M5150 cores will provide controller functionality within the system’s various I/O interfaces.

A number of other products from major brands containing Imagination’s technologies were shown throughout MWC.

Imagination’s next major event will be the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2014, where further product announcements will be made around SoCs and end products using Imagination’s graphics IP. To arrange a meeting with Imagination at GDC, contact gdc@imgtec.com.

Imagination’s SoC IP processors

Imagination’s SoC partners are powering many of the latest products driving the future mobile lifestyle experience, leveraging the broadening portfolio of Imagination’s SoC IP which enables ever more innovations in mobile electronics:

• PowerVR multimedia IP cores including graphics processors (GPUs) and video/vision processors (VPUs) for smooth UI, rich graphics and high-quality video and imaging
• MIPS CPUs which enable ultra-low power wearables and IoT devices, advanced networking, smart media players and more
• Ensigma radio communications processors (RPUs) which provide a wide range of connectivity (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth) and broadcast (TV, radio) capabilities
• FlowCloud technology for enabling device-to-device and device-to-cloud applications, including solutions for audio and V.VoIP/VoLTE

About Imagination Technologies

Imagination is a global technology leader whose products touch the lives of billions of people throughout the world. The company’s broad range of silicon IP (intellectual property) includes the key multimedia, communications and general purpose processors needed to create the SoCs (Systems on Chips) that power all mobile, consumer, automotive, enterprise, infrastructure, IoT and embedded electronics. These are complemented by its unique software and cloud IP and system solution focus, enabling its licensees and partners get to market quickly by creating and leveraging highly differentiated SoC platforms. Imagination’s licensees include many of the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers, network operators and OEMs/ODMs who are creating some of the world’s most iconic and disruptive products. See: www.imgtec.com.