Imaging News Roundup

Penn Olson reports that Lenovo has finally put a price and a release date on its upcoming eeDoo iSec games console. Slated for a limited, experimental release this December, the console will sell for about $470 (3,000 RMB). Games consoles are not technically legal in mainland China, and the eeDoo iSec has not yet gained approval from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Forbes: Bodymetrics, a London-based company providing a 'Body Mapping' platform, today announced the launch of the world's first full 3D body scanner developed in collaboration with PrimeSense. The scanner quickly and accurately calculates 100 measurements. Body-shape analytics are then used to find garments that best suit the customer's unique shape and size.

"The body is the last piece of information to go digital. Most of your life is already digital - your friends, your music, your bank account - all accessible on-line, but your body is not. Bodymetrics together with PrimeSense is enabling consumers to store and access all their body information online and link this to retailers. Now, body scanning becomes a powerful platform for many retailers to provide the personalized fit and service their customers have always wanted," says Suran Goonatilake, CEO, Bodymetrics.

Bodymetrics is a London-based privately held company that has raised $7m in funding, primarily from its strategic partner, TAL Group, one of the world’s largest and most advanced clothing manufacturing groups.

Cnet, Xconomy: SiOnyx reported an improvement of solar cell efficiency by 0.3% (absolute). The SiOnyx 156 mm multicrystalline silicon cells, made in collaboration with German research institute ISC Konstanz, achieved average absolute efficiencies of over 17%. Big deal? Well, it turns out that 0.3% represents roughly a year’s worth of progress in the traditional solar cell industry, says Chris Vineis, the company’s director of solar technology.

Solar is actually only a small part of the company's overall business. SiOnyx plans to make about 80% of its revenues on its image sensor products and 20% on its solar process. “We’re more than a one trick pony,” James Carey, SiOnyx co-founder and principal scientist says.

SiOnyx site has few statements regarding its imaging capabilities:

"SiOnyx is helping next generation computing and gaming systems interact with users by using 3D depth sensing imaging techniques known as Time of Flight and Pattern Recognition. Compared to today’s CCD and CMOS image sensors, SiOnyx CMOS sensors provide increased IR responsivity at the critical 850nm and 940nm wavelengths used in IR illumination."

Update: PV Tech shows SiOnyx efficiency graphs with tighter distribution across the cell area:

PR Newswire has SiOnyx' official number of efficiency which is a bit lower than one published in other source: 16.9% for 150-micron thick multicrystalline cells. The cells are said to be 20% thinner than wafers in production today and represent a cost reduction of 10-15%.