TORONTO, ONTARIO and PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA--(Marketwired - July 14, 2014) - Spectra7 Microsystems Inc. (TSX-VENTURE:SEV) (the "Company" or "Spectra7"), a high performance consumer interconnect company delivering unprecedented bandwidth, power, resolution and speed to enable new classes of industrial design for consumer and mobile products, today announced the Company's new DisplayDirect™ WR7100 product. The WR7100 is the first chip of its kind to enable weavable interconnects that can deliver real-time deep color 4K UHD resolution from wearable visual systems to on-person mobile phones and storage devices. Unlike current virtual reality (VR) platforms which are restricted to a non-portable GPU / compute console up to 3m away, interconnects designed with the WR7100 are weavable and flexible enough to connect directly on-person and leverage the imminent advanced processing power in the latest mobile phones.
First-person video capture today is limited to bulky, extraneous camera-units on the user's head or equipment compared to lightweight wearable computing devices such as glasses which now benefit from stereoscopic first-person 4K capture. Untethered applications for on-person 4K capture includes smart glasses, gaming, virtual reality, sports, cinematography, training, military, automotive and aviation. Spectra7's WR7100 uniquely enables lightweight wearable 4K products to move high-speed data over virtually undetectable interconnects with ultra-low latency and without the need for external power. These interconnects can now be woven with sub-miniature, weavable copper fibers to connect "on-person" visual systems to the user's "on-person" mobile device, delivering up to 4K Ultra HD resolution. With widespread adoption across industries including fashion, gaming, medicine, biometrics, fitness and consumer devices, the market for wearable devices is projected to grow to more than $11 billion in 2015 according to a recent report from NPD DisplaySearch.
"Ultra-small, ultra-light weight and high flexibility are absolute requirements for the latest wearable technology products," said Paul Gray, Director of European Research, DisplaySearch. "Weavable, almost thread-like interconnects capable of delivering these must-have functions are critical to the rapid proliferation across the wearables ecosystem."
By enabling new levels of miniaturization, portability and flexibility previously unavailable to the market, the Company believes products designed with its DisplayDirect™ wearable technology deliver the essential features to weave electronics directly into the fabric of garments including:
- Nano-scale wire: Enabling wire-thin, weavable interconnects by reducing the wire gauge to just 0.04 inches thin - the cross-sectional area of 50 of these wires bundled together is as small as the head of a pin.
- "Carbon-fiber" light: Achieving an up to 85% reduction in copper in the cable results in interconnects that are up 5 times lighter as the WR7100 enables conductive fibers that can be integrated unnoticeably into garments and clothing.
- Ultra-flexibility, high bandwidth: Optimizing the minimum bend radius for the cable to enable fiber-optic levels of interconnect bendability while maximizing signal integrity performance and up to 4K Ultra HD resolution.
- Ultra Small Form Factor - At just 2mm by 2mm the WR7100 chip is small enough to fit through the eye of a needle.
"Wearable devices have the potential to become truly pervasive," said Tony Stelliga, CEO of Spectra7. "Spectra7's unique approach to wearable technologies transforms the user experience by enabling consumers to capture and/or experience immersive 4K resolution without noticeable latency or interconnect bulk and weight as a result of this new breakthrough chip."
Spectra7's latest silicon enables a new class of the ultra-light and super-thin interconnects for the most advanced industrial designs for wearable devices through the use of the Company's patented, high speed active signal processing and power delivery technology.
ABOUT SPECTRA7 MICROSYSTEMS INC.
Spectra7 Microsystems Inc. is a high performance analog semiconductor company delivering unprecedented speed, resolution and signal fidelity to consumer and wireless infrastructure products. Spectra7's new system-level components address throughput bottlenecks and satisfy the exponential demand for more bandwidth and lower costs in mobile and internet infrastructure equipment, including handsets, tablets, base stations and microwave backhaul systems. Spectra7 is headquartered in Markham, Ontario with development centers in Silicon Valley, Irvine, California and Cork, Ireland. For more information, please visit www.spectra7.com.
CAUTIONARY NOTES
Certain information in this news release may constitute forward-looking information. This information is based on current expectations that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. Spectra7 assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward looking-statements unless and until required by securities laws applicable to Spectra7. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in Spectra7's filings with the Canadian securities regulators available at www.sedar.com.
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