A design win for Lattice Semiconductor, Valve selected the company’s low power iCE40 FPGA to enable concurrent data capture and processing for its SteamVR tracking platform. Acting as a sensor hub on the tracking platform, the FPGA reduces the number of signals that need to be routed from the sensors to the applications processor (AP) and microcontrollers (MCUs) on the printed circuit board (PCB). This process reduces EMI emissions, PCB congestion, and improves overall signal integrity.
The SteamVR tracking system consists of three components: a base station, sensors on tracked objects, and a host processor. The host processor determines where tracked objects are located in a space outlined by the base station in real-time. For more details on the iVE40 FPGA, contact Lattice Semiconductor.