Microsoft To Go 3D With Canesta Acquisition

Microsoft on Friday said it planned to acquire Canesta, a developer of 3D sensing technology.

With the acquisition, Microsoft will gain access to single-chip 3D sensing technology, including 44 patents and several more patents pending, related to making natural user interfaces (NUIs) or interfaces which do not require traditional inputs such as via a keyboard or mouse.

Canesta is a developer of what it calls electronic perception technology, which allows machines and electronic devices to track nearby objects in three dimensions in real time. The company's CMOS chips emit a continuous field of infrared light and processes the time it takes for that light to reflect back, creating a 3D image of multiple objects.

That allows devices such as smart phones or game devices to perceive nearby objects and features, identify them, and take action in real time, Canesta said.

Such a capability has immediate uses in Microsoft Windows 7-based smartphone and tablet devices, as well as in game controllers for its Xbox video game console.

NEXT: Good Customer Base

Canesta's current customer list includes Quanta Computer, a Taiwan-based developer of notebook PCs and mobile devices, and Hitachi, which uses the Canesta technology to develop televisions which are controlled by open-hand gestures instead of remote controls.

Canesta also has technology agreements with companies like Softkinetic, which develops gesture-controlled technology for such uses as game controllers similar to those of Microsoft's Kinetc controllers for its Xbox; Optex, which develops 3D image-sensing technology for access control for building and industrial safety; and SMSC, which develops 3D camera solutions.

The deal is expected to close by year-end. Microsoft and Canesta did not specify the financial terms of the deal.