Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX), through its subsidiary Himax Imaging, has teamed up with CEVA, Inc. (NASDAQ:CEVA) and emza Visual Sense to create a significantly enhanced visual sensor system called WiseEye IoT sensor.
As the name suggests, WiseEye IoT sensor is targeted at the IoT applications market. The developers of the system say it is suitable for use in wearable devices, smart city systems, automotive and visual assistants.
Himax and partners have said WiseEye IoT sensor is an industry first as an always-on visual sensor. Furthermore, Himax and its partners claim the system is designed to overcome energy and cost constraints faced by developers of connected vision processing systems.
Himax will showcase WiseEye IoT sensor at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The event will run between January 5 and January 8.
Who contributed what?
Himax contributed its unique low-energy imaging technology in making WiseEye IoT sensor. CEVA, on the other hand, contributed low-power vision DSP technology. As for emza, the company contributed machine vision algorithms. That has resulted in a sensor system highly optimized for detecting and tracking its environment in a more efficient manner.
“Our image sensors have long been among the leanest in the industry in terms of power consumption. We have leveraged our vast expertize to develop an ultra-low power sensor specifically for IoT,” said Himax Imaging’s CTO Amit Mittra.
As for Himax, the company is betting on the explosion of IoT market with the creation of the WiseEye IoT sensor. Billions of devices are expected to be connected to the internet grid in the coming few years and developers of connected devices are trying to make them smarter to better recognize their environment. WiseEye IoT sensor could get socket in many of the smart IoT applications coming to the market.
Will the WiseEye IoT sensor cause analysts to upgrade Himax?
It remains to be seen whether the launch of WiseEye IoT sensor would cause analysts to change their view on Himax’s outlook. Just before the announcement of WiseEye IoT sensor, analysts at Mizuho Securities downgraded the stock of Himax to NEUTRAL from a BUY. The analysts further trimmed their 12-month price target on the stock to $7.70 from $10. Earlier in September, Nomura analysts downgraded Himax to NEUTRAL from BUY and chopped their price target on the stock to $10.20 from $12.
The analysts are concerned about the slow uptake of augmented reality devices that use Himax’s technology.
Shares of Himax fell 4.6% in the last session to $6.46. The stock has declined about 22% since the beginning of 2016.
