SUNNYVALE, Calif. — February 22, 2005 — OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: OVTI), one of the world’s leading suppliers of CMOS image sensors, will offer the toy industry a glimpse into the future of smart toys at the American International Toy Fair in New York this week. At booth #5240 the company will demonstrate applications that use its new OV810 SmartSensor™ with optical recognition technology.
The OV810 is the first low-cost optical recognition sensor designed specifically for the consumer toy market. Toys that incorporate it are able to recognize, learn and recall patterns and human faces and react accordingly. OmniVision believes the OV810 will facilitate the development of many affordable smart toys for mass market introduction by as early as Christmas 2005.
“Optical recognition is not new in the toy market. Interactive toys such as Sony’s Aibo have already employed this technology, but at the high-end of the toy market,” said Hasan Gadjali, director of marketing for advanced products. “The OV810 is able to provide affordable, intelligent optical sensor technology for mass market toys, is highly customizable for a wide variety of applications and has the potential to create many new categories of toys.”
OmniVision will be demonstrating applications for the OV810, such as facial recognition, motion tracking and pattern recognition, at the American International Toy Fair. Examples of applications in these areas include:
Facial recognition:
- A doll that is able to recognize its owner or react to patterns and respond by, for example, walking, talking, or performing some other task.
- A sensor embedded into the cover of a private diary that will open only if it recognizes a certain face.
Pattern recognition:
- A toy train that can read signals and respond accordingly.
- A toy ATM or piggy bank that can be trained to recognize dollar bills.
Motion tracking:
- A toy such as a car or an animal that can track a light or line on the ground.
The OV810 is available now and will be priced under $1.50 per unit in die form for volume production.
Aibo is a trademark or registered trademark of Sony Corporation. OmniVision, CameraChip™, SmartSensor™ and OmniPixel® are trademarks of OmniVision Technologies, Inc.
Safe-Harbor
Statement Certain statements in this press release, including statements regarding the performance and capabilities of OmniVision’s OV810 SmartSensor™, and the anticipated demand for products incorporating the OV810, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties, which could cause the forward-looking statements and OmniVision’s results to differ materially, include, without limitation: potential errors, design flaws or other problems with the OV810; customer acceptance and demand for the OV810; and the other risks detailed from time to time in OmniVision’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, OmniVision’s annual reports filed on Form 10-K and quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q. OmniVision disclaims any obligation to update information contained in any forward-looking statement.