Leap Motion Selects Cypress' EZ-USB FX3 Solution for Controller Components

Named by Popular Mechanics as one of “The Top 10 Tech Breakthroughs of 2012,” Leap Motion’s controller creates a three-dimensional interaction space that allows users to control their computer with intuitive hand and finger movements. Leap Motion captures the precise movements of all 10 fingers to 1/100th millimeter – smaller than the tip of a pin. The Leap Motion controller’s USB port leverages the Cypress FX3 solution and can connect to any Mac or PC computer with either USB 2.0 or 3.0 capability.

Inside its small (1 inch by 3 inches by 1/2 inch) form factor, the Leap Motion controller contains two image sensors that work with the Cypress FX3 device to capture 16-bit wide data. The Cypress FX3 solution packetizes the data in USB Video Class format and sends it to the user’s computer via either a USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 port. Leap Motion’s patented 3-D motion control software then processes the data in real time to create 3-D motion controls.

“Leap Motion set a high standard when we evaluated component providers for our controller. Our ground-breaking software requires hardware that provides extremely fast processing power to offer users real-time 3-D motion control at a level never experienced before,” said Michael Buckwald, co-founder and CEO of Leap Motion. “The programmability of the Cypress FX3 solution helped us create a simple and elegant hardware design for the Leap Motion device, while also keeping bill-of-material costs low.”

“We are very pleased to work with Leap Motion in bringing their revolutionary 3-D motion controller to the consumer market,” said Mark Fu, senior marketing director for the USB 3.0 Business Unit at Cypress. “FX3 provides a one-chip solution that reduces the hardware complexity of the Leap Motion device and still provides ample flexibility for customization and future upgrades.”

The Leap Motion controller will start shipping in early 2013.

Cypress’s EZ-USB FX3 is the industry’s only programmable USB 3.0 peripheral control solution. FX3 is equipped with a fully configurable General Programmable Interface, which can be programmed in 8-, 16-, and 32-bit configurations. GPIF II enables FX3 to interfaces directly with any processors, ASIC, FPGA, and up to two image sensors. The GPIF Designer, a graphical user interface tool kit, helps system designers to configure the GPIF interface to their needs. In addition, FX3’s on-chip ARM9 CPU core with 512 KB RAM delivers 200 MIPS of computational power.