Currently Apical is working with ARM on the optimization of its iridix® embedded software libraries for Mail-T604 using OpenGL® ES and OpenCL™. At the Mobile World Congress 2013 Apical was able to preview code accelerated by the GPU on an InSignal Arndale platform.

iridix lets cameras see like the human eye. It’s the most successful technology of its kind in the market and is behind high-quality still and video capture modes in DSCs, DSLRs, smartphones and video cameras by major brands.

iridix is a form of dynamic range compression (also known as tone mapping) and is the product of over a decade’s research into how the human visual system adjusts to different lighting conditions. It applies different processing to each pixel of each video frame to pull out hidden detail in shadows and highlights while preserving colors, local contrast and natural appearance. The latest versions of iridix integrate multiple-exposure HDR image stitching technology and support data formats used by native HDR sensors.

iridix is available as IP cores and as embedded software libraries supporting ARM Cortex™ and Mali graphics processors. iridix software libraries are highly optimized for ARM CPU architectures including NEON™ extensions. OpenGL ES 2.0 and OpenCL implementations based on Mali GPUs for efficient real-time video processing on portable devices are also supported.

iridix version 2 was first deployed commercially on Nikon’s Coolpix cameras in 2004 as the “D-Lighting” feature. Since then, iridix ARM libraries have been used by many DSC, DSLR and smartphone manufacturers as the basis for HDR functionality. The current production version of iridix is version 7.

Apical at the Mali Developer Center

Apical at the ARM Partner Community

London 22-Feb-2013: Apical is pleased to announce that Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, will support its Assertive Display® technology in Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 800 processors.

Assertive Display is a new technology which makes the display adaptive to its viewing environment. By employing sophisticated video processing algorithms based on research into human vision, the mobile display is continuously adjusted to deliver a consistent, high-quality experience in all conditions, including those in which content would be otherwise unwatchable.

The result is that the multimedia experience is maintained everywhere, even in bright sunshine. Assertive Display-enabled devices typically consume at least 30% less display power, leading to significant battery life extensions. Viewing comfort is maximized by ensuring that the display is neither too dark nor too bright for the eyes.

Assertive Display has been featured in devices from smartphones by manufacturers such as Sharp and Huawei to HDTVs by Bang & Olufsen.

Qualcomm Technologies supports Apical’s latest, third-generation Assertive Display technology, which operates with minimal software load and very low power consumption for even the highest display resolutions.

Says Michael Tusch, CEO of Apical, “We are excited that a mobile pioneer like Qualcomm Technologies is supporting Assertive Display and making it available to its customers this year. Qualcomm Technologies’ leadership in the mobile industry could help enable a wide range of smartphone and tablet makers to adopt the technology and their users to start getting a great multimedia experience wherever they happen to be.”

About Apical

Apical specializes in advanced image and video processing technology for embedded applications. The company’s products are derived from original research into the human visual system and are designed to maximize the performance of a wide range of image capture and display devices. Apical works primarily with OEMs and semiconductor manufacturers for whom high-performance imaging is a key differentiator. Apical is a privately held company based in the UK.

The Assertive Display engine is integrated into Hisilicon’s K3V2 quad-core application processor.

Hisilicon already implemented its proprietary A.I.PS (Artificial Intelligence Power Scaling mechanism) in K3V2 to manage the number of working cores and the status of CPU and GPU automatically. Integrating Apical’s Assertive Display now enables Hisilicon to offer a whole-system approach to power management, since the display is typically the largest consumer of power on a mobile device.

Using Assertive Display, Huawei can reduce display power consumption by 30% on its Ascend smartphones while simultaneously improving visual quality of movies, images and games.

Assertive Display works by dynamically adapting each pixel so that all content displayed on the screen is always optimally adapted to the display contrast ratio, which varies according to viewing conditions. Based on a model of human vision, Apical’s technology enables the display to adapt strongly between darkness and sunshine in the same way as our eyes. It successfully overcomes the current limitations of even today’s most advanced displays in providing power-efficient and high quality imagery in any viewing conditions.

Says Michael Tusch, CEO Apical: “Assertive Display is probably the most significant display-related differentiator for high-end smartphones and tablets since it addresses the two biggest challenges for mobile displays: viewability and battery life. We are glad Huawei has chosen to deploy this technology in its impressive range of devices.”

Says George Yiu, Director of HiSilicon Turing development department: “Battery life is one of the major problems for today’s high-performance tablets and smartphones. We licensed Apical’s Assertive Display technology as part of our overall ambition to deliver the best user experience and the most efficient power consumption.”

www.huaweidevice.co.uk/mobile-phones/

These new members have joined at different levels including: supporter, contributor and associate. Working closely with the founder members of AMD, ARM, Imagination Technologies, MediaTek Inc., Samsung Electronics and Texas Instruments (TI), the new members will contribute to the growing adoption of HSA in heterogeneous computing.

“As the word gets out about the HSA Foundation, we’re experiencing a groundswell of support from a wide range of companies that are interested in power-efficiency and heterogeneous computing,” said Greg Stoner, vice president and managing director of the HSA Foundation. “HSA will enable the next era of computing from mobile and embedded to HPC and cloud computing, but it requires having a full value chain in place from silicon to IP to ISVs.”

New Member Quotes

Supporter

Arteris – a leading supplier of network-on-chip (NoC) interconnect IP solutions
“HSA will usher in a new era of advanced processing capabilities,” said K. Charles Janac, president and chief executive officer of Arteris. “To optimize for power and performance, we will provide network-on-chip interconnect IP and system IP that will make HSA systems-on-chip more efficient, minimizing power consumption and size for consumer electronics, mobile, automotive and other applications.”

MulticoreWare – a leading software tool and library provider
“MulticoreWare has been at the forefront of providing developer tools and libraries that leverage heterogeneous computing,” said AGK Karunakaran, president and chief executive officer of MulticoreWare. “As HSA takes hold as an industry standard and becomes the interface for parallel computing, we will provide the tools, libraries and support to semiconductor vendors with their HSA supported SDKs and developers at ISVs that want to optimize their applications for the next era of computing performance.”

Contributor

Apical – a leader in advanced image processing technology
“We are living in a world of screens where visuals have become the preferred choice of how we communicate,” said Michael Tusch, chief executive officer of Apical. As a new member of the HSA Foundation, we look forward to leveraging heterogeneous computing to deliver advanced digital imaging and display technologies that will improve the user experience.”

Sonics – a leading supplier of system IP for cloud-scale SoCs
“Technology companies are rushing to deliver products that satisfy the growing appetite for connected devices and content,” said Jack Browne, vice president of marketing at Sonics. “Our broad portfolio of system IP, which includes network, memory, power and security subsystems, helps leading SoC vendors build better chips, faster and at lower cost. Sonics’ support of HSA will further accelerate SoC and OEM vendors’ time-to-market and put the next-generation of connected devices in consumers’ hands sooner.”

Symbio – a leading provider of R&D innovation services and outsourced product development solutions
“Symbio believes HSA heterogeneous architecture is a game changer that will unbound the limitations of traditional processor and graphics architectures,” said Jacob Hsu, chief executive officer of Symbio. “We’re just scratching at the surface of all the possibilities as performance of many of the algorithms and usage cases will be significantly improved.”

Associate

Vivante – a worldwide leader in graphics and GPU Compute technologies for handheld, consumer and embedded devices
“The heterogeneous computing revolution has taken a huge step forward with the formation of an open standard driven by HSA Foundation. As a global innovator in graphics and GPU technologies, Vivante is excited to join the foundation as it defines a hybrid platform architecture that takes full advantage of the massively parallel processing cores in our GPUs,” said Wei-Jin Dai, president and chief executive officer of Vivante. “We look forward to collaborating with ecosystem partners as we bring exciting hybrid computing initiatives to future mobile, consumer, and embedded devices.”

Supporting Resources

For additional information about HSA and the HSA Foundation visit the HSA Foundation web site at www.hsafoundation.com.

About the HSA Foundation

The HSA (Heterogeneous System Architecture) Foundation is a not-for-profit consortium for SoC IP vendors, OEMs, academia, SoC vendors, OSVs and ISVs whose goal is to make it easy to program for parallel computing. HSA members are building a heterogeneous compute ecosystem, rooted in industry standards, for combining scalar processing on the CPU with parallel processing on the GPU while enabling high bandwidth access to memory and high application performance at low power consumption. HSA defines interfaces for parallel computation utilizing CPU, GPU and other programmable and fixed function devices, and support for a diverse set of high-level programmi

ng languages, thereby creating the next foundation in general purpose computing. Learn more about HSA and the HSA Foundation at www.hsafoundation.com.

• Visual Enhancement Engine (VEE) technology improves display viewability in all viewing conditions
• Display Power Optimizer (DPO) technology extends battery life

QuickLogic Corporation (NASDAQ: QUIK), the leader in low-power Customer Specific Standard Products (CSSPs), is proud to announce that Kyocera Corporation, has implemented QuickLogic’s Visual Enhancement Engine and Display Power Optimizer (DPO) technologies in an ArcticLink® II VX4 CSSP in the recently launched ‘URBANO PROGRESSO’ smartphone. The VX4 CSSP also has an integrated MDDI Client for communicating with the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and Framebuffer from which to refresh the display contents.

Announced May 15, 2012 and available in Japan since May 30, 2012, the URBANO PROGRESSO features Android 4.0, and a 4-inch OLED “Luminous Display®.”

The combination of the 4-inch OLED “Luminous Display” and QuickLogic’s VEE and DPO technologies ensure that URBANO PROGRESSO users can use and enjoy their devices in higher ambient light viewing conditions, while also benefitting from a longer battery life.

“Kyocera was the first Japanese smartphone manufacturer to bring a product to market featuring a QuickLogic CSSP, in their original DIGNO® smartphone,” said Brian Faith, VP of worldwide sales and marketing for QuickLogic. “Their continued use of our solutions, and the enabling of VEE and DPO in the new URBANO PROGRESSO, demonstrates the value QuickLogic can bring to consumers.”

Quicklogic’s press release is here.

Availability

QuickLogic’s VEE and DPO technologies are available today as part of the ArcticLink® II VX2 and VX4 platforms and the ArcticLink III VX3, VX5 and VX6 platforms. Contact QuickLogic or visit our website at http://www.quicklogic.com/display-enhancement/ for more information on all of the technologies mentioned.

About VEE and DPO

QuickLogic’s VEE technology, based on the iridix® core from Apical Limited, greatly enhances the viewability of LCD and OLED displays under challenging lighting conditions such as bright ambient light by dynamically optimizing video characteristics to provide a natural viewing experience based on the human visual system. Used together with VEE, QuickLogic’s DPO technology enables system-level battery life extension by an average of 25% without compromising the user experience.

About KYOCERA

Kyocera Corporation (NYSE:KYO)(TOKYO:6971) (http://global.kyocera.com/), the parent and global headquarters of the Kyocera Group, was founded in 1959 as a producer of fine ceramics (also known as “advanced ceramics”). By combining these engineered materials with metals and plastics, and integrating them with other technologies, Kyocera has become a leading supplier of telecommunications equipment, electronic components, solar power generating systems, printers, copiers, semiconductor packages, cutting tools and industrial ceramics. During the year ended March 31, 2012, the company’s net sales totaled 1.19 trillion yen (approx. USD14.5 billion). The company is ranked #426 on Forbes magazine’s 2012 “Global 2000” listing of the world’s largest publicly traded companies.

About QuickLogic

QuickLogic Corporation (NASDAQ: QUIK) is the inventor and pioneer of innovative, customizable semiconductor solutions for mobile and portable electronics OEMs and ODMs. These silicon plus software solutions are called Customer Specific Standard Products (CSSPs). CSSPs enable our customers to bring their products to market more quickly and remain in the market longer, with the low power, cost and size demanded by the mobile and portable electronics market. For more information about QuickLogic and CSSPs, visit www.quicklogic.com.

Visual Enhancement Engine (VEE) delivers improved content viewability in all lighting conditions
QuickLogic Corporation (NASDAQ: QUIK), the leader in low-power Customer Specific Standard Products (CSSPs), announced today that its Visual Enhancement Engine (VEE) technology has been integrated into Micron Technology’s ‘PoP Video’ pico projector accessory for use with iPhone and iPod touch.

QuickLogic’s VEE technology, based on the iridix® core from Apical Limited, enhances the PoP Video’s projection by dynamically adapting content to the viewing environment. This approach provides an increase in perceived brightness without increasing light source power consumption. With the VEE technology, PoP Video users can clearly view all types of projected content in most viewing environments.

The PoP Video is an affordable, portable, and versatile device that can project several types of media from iPhone or iPod touch. Uniquely combining affordable projection with long battery life, the PoP Video provides users with an unparalleled viewing experience.

“PoP Video sets the standard for mobile accessory pico projectors,” said Paul Karazuba, senior product marketing manager at QuickLogic. “Micron is an ideal partner, and PoP Video is an ideal platform, for bringing VEE into the pico projector accessory market.”

“QuickLogic’s VEE technology has enabled the PoP Video to bridge convenient projection with optimal visual enhancement and create a remarkable pico projector accessory,” said Negin Oliver, director of marketing for Micron Technology.

Availability

QuickLogic’s VEE technology is available today as part of the ArcticLink® II and ArcticLink III VX solution platform families. Contact QuickLogic or visit the website at www.quicklogic.com for more information.

Micron’s PoP Video pico projector accessory is available through www.thepopvideo.com and Amazon.com. Visit www.thepopvideo.com for more information.

Quicklogic’s press release is here.

About QuickLogic

QuickLogic Corporation (NASDAQ: QUIK) is the inventor and pioneer of innovative, customizable semiconductor solutions for mobile and portable electronics OEMs and ODMs. These silicon plus software solutions are called Customer Specific Standard Products (CSSPs). CSSPs enable our customers to bring their products to market more quickly and remain in the market longer, with the low power, cost and size demanded by the mobile and portable electronics market. For more information about QuickLogic and CSSPs, visit www.quicklogic.com.

Apical is helping Bang & Olufsen to continue its leadership in the quality of the TV viewing experience via its advanced video algorithm, Assertive Display, which is based on over a decade’s continuous research and development.

Assertive Display continuously adapts the TV to the ambient viewing conditions. While adjustment of the picture settings to ambient light is nothing new for Bang & Olufsen, Assertive Display goes far beyond this to adapt the brightness of each individual pixel of each video frame both to screen brightness and to ambient light. It uses a sophisticated model of the human visual system to mimic the way the eye adjusts to changing room lighting, leading to a viewing experience of unprecedented quality in all conditions, even bright sunshine.

It also allows the TV to draw less power by reducing display brightness overall without impacting viewing quality.

Says Michael Tusch, CEO Apical: “That Bang & Olufsen has chosen to integrate Assertive Display in their latest TVs is a strong endorsement of the technology and we’re all glad that our efforts to meet the very high demands of such a product have been successful. We think that Bang & Olufsen’s customers will really notice the benefits our technology brings to maximizing their overall experience.”

Says Ben Verbraak, Senior Manager, R&D at Bang & Olufsen: “Since people watch TV under a wide range of lighting conditions, we have always strived to make sure that our products gave them the best possible quality in all those conditions without compromise. Bang & Olufsen’s Automatic Picture Control feature, part of the overall Vision Clear concept, has now been brought to a new level by including Apical’s technology. The Assertive Display algorithm has proven to be very effective in helping us achieve this goal.”

The BeoPlay V1 32 inch and 40 inch TVs were launched on May 2^nd, 2012.

See www.beoplay.com/v1 for more information.

About Apical

Apical is a leader in advanced image and video processing technology for embedded applications. The company’s products are designed to enhance the visual experience of cameras and displays by enabling higher-quality imagery which is adaptive to the usage environment. Apical works primarily with leading OEMs and semiconductor manufacturers for whom high-performance imaging is a key differentiator.

www.apical.co.uk

iridix is an advanced method of dynamic range control that enables cameras to take better pictures and displays to give better viewing experiences in varying, sometimes difficult lighting conditions. The technology is derived from research into how the human eye adapts to changing lighting environments. Sophisticated digital processing addresses each image pixel in real-time, extending beyond traditional backlight and contrast controls, to adjust the image accordingly. This process operates at a system level optimized for low power consumption.

iridix acts as a central component in high dynamic range imaging and also helps address several imaging design challenges for converged mobile imaging devices.

Michael Tusch, CEO, Apical said, “Since we introduced the first version of iridix in 2002, it has become clear that this kind of technology is required in almost all digital imaging products, and we focus intensively both on remaining at the forefront of its evolution and on working closely with our partners to ensure that end products achieve the highest possible quality and performance standards. We are very pleased that our license agreement with TI will enable a variety of end equipment manufacturers to implement this technology into their designs.”

“TI has a longstanding history of delivering advanced imaging functionality across various product portfolios,” said Jeremiah Golston, fellow and chief architect of the DaVinci™ video processor platform, TI. “We are working with Apical and the iridix technology to build on that legacy and provide our customers’ with market-leading innovations.”

The iridix image processing IP cores will be integrated into TI products targeting digital imaging and display applications.

The smartphone features latest-generation display technology, incorporating an 3D display with HD resolution.

The 102SH uses Apical’s Assertive Display technology as part of its advanced power saving and outdoor viewing functions, which are key to optimizing the performance of the handset for multimedia viewing.

Traditionally, providing a good viewing experience outdoors and saving battery power have been considered contradictory requirements, even though both are central to delivering a high quality multimedia experience on a mobile device.

Assertive Display by Apical solves both central requirements simultaneously, enabling multimedia content to be viewed even in bright sunshine on standard displays, and extending battery life by reducing display power significantly.

Said Michael Tusch, CEO of Apical: “Achieving good viewability of multimedia outdoors together with economical power consumption is a significant challenge for high-resolution 3D displays. We are proud of the performance enhancements Sharp has been able to achieve using our technology in the AQUOS PHONE SoftBank 102SH.”

Apical’s Assertive Display is a semiconductor IP core which adapts multimedia content to the display capabilities under actual viewing conditions. It takes into account both the screen brightness and the amount of light in the environment to adjust in real time the appearance of movies, photos and games for optimal viewability. It leverages a decade’s research and development by Apical into the way the human eye adapts to changes in the lighting environment to give a seamless and high-quality experience to the user. The Assertive Display core is integrated into Sharp’s proprietary media processor.

Apical is pleased to announce that one of the latest  smartphones in Japan, the docomo with series AQUOS PHONE SH-01D by Sharp, uses Apical’s Assertive Display technology to optimize the performance of its display.

The handset, which goes on sale in Japan this month for the carrier DOCOMO and incorporates a 4.5” HD (1280 x 720) autostereoscopic 3D touchscreen, is the latest in Sharp’s successful AQUOS PHONE series.

The SH-01D uses Apical’s Assertive Display technology as part of its advanced power saving and outdoor viewing functions, which are key to optimizing the performance of the handset for multimedia viewing.

Traditionally, providing a good viewing experience outdoors and saving battery power have been considered contradictory requirements, even though both are central to delivering a high quality multimedia experience on a mobile device.

Assertive Display by Apical solves both central requirements simultaneously, enabling multimedia content to be viewed even in bright sunshine on standard displays, and extending battery life by reducing display power significantly.

Said Michael Tusch, CEO of Apical: “We have been working with Sharp for several years and were very impressed by the way in which Sharp was able rapidly to grasp how to use our unique technology. Sharp has again produced a great product which raises the bar worldwide for smartphone multimedia performance.”

Apical’s Assertive Display is a semiconductor IP core which adapts multimedia content to the display capabilities under actual viewing conditions. It takes into account both the screen brightness and the amount of light in the environment to adjust in real time the appearance of movies, photos and games for optimal viewability. It leverages a decade’s research and development by Apical into the way the human eye adapts to changes in the lighting environment to give a seamless and high-quality experience to the user. The Assertive Display core is integrated into Sharp’s proprietary media processor.