While not revealing how much it paid for the company, Sony said its acquisition of SoftKinetic is not expected to have any “material impact” on its financial results for the current fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2016.
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Brussels, Belgium-based, Softkinetic deals in making 3D sensing computer vision technologies, which include time-of-flight (‘ToF’) range image sensor and gesture-tracking middleware.
Softkinetic uses a technique called time-of-flight measurement to determine the distance of an object from a sensor, or different parts of an object from a camera, by bouncing packets of photons off it. Particularly, the company serves interactive digital, serious gaming and consumer electronics companies.
Sony has acquired start-up SoftKinetic which is anticipated to beef up the Japanese company’s impending PlayStation VR headset with gesture tracking abilities.
“Sony will focus on combining Softkinetic’s ToF range image sensor technology expertise with its own technologies with the aim of developing the next generation of range image sensors and solutions, not only in the field of imaging, but for broader sensing-related applications as well”, states the Japanese company.
We believe the abovementioned buyout is Sony’s strategic step towards strengthening its foothold in the virtual reality domain. Its sensors are used in smartphones such as Apple Inc’s iPhone. AAPL, among its customers.
Sony dominates the CMOS image sensor business, with Q2 2015 revenues of slightly over $1bn, which represents around 42% of the worldwide market, almost three times the revenue of its closest competitor, Samsung Electronics, according to market analyst IHS.
The new business, Sony Semiconductor Solutions, is set to begin operating on April 1, 2016.
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