1. Architecting and integrating sensor drivers
11/23/ :19 AM
HW-249T
Architecting and integrating sensor drivers
Gavin Gear
Program Manager
Microsoft Corporation
© 2010 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.
The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

2. Agenda Sensor opportunities and challenges
Sensor features in Windows 8
Sensor fusion fundamentals
Engineering and building PCs with sensors
Sensor certification and validation
You’ll leave with examples of how to
Design PC hardware using the latest sensor technology
Build a Windows 8 compliant sensor system

3. Sensor technology and apps are evolving at a rapid pace.

4. Sensor opportunities
Yesterday’s rocket science is today’s consumer electronics technology
Apps use sensors in new and novel ways
Sensor fusion takes capabilities to the next level
Sensors allow devices to adapt to the user and environment
Sensor part costs are decreasing while capabilities are increasing

5. Challenges: building devices with sensors
Connecting sensors, building drivers
Quality of sensor data, performance
Hardware platform inconsistencies

6. Windows 8 offers comprehensive support for cutting edge sensors.

7. Using accelerometer in Windows 8
demo
Labyrinth
Using accelerometer in Windows 8

8. Windows 8 tablet and convertible sensors
Windows 8 tablets/convertibles include the following:
Ambient light sensor
Motion / orientation sensors
3D Accelerometer
3D Gyro
3D Magnetometer
Sensor Fusion

9. Windows 8 sensor platform and features

10. Location and sensor platform
Sensor definitions (define sensor interfaces)
Sensor Device Driver Interface (DDI)
Sensor API
Location API
Sensor service

11. Built-In sensor features
Adaptive brightness
Screen brightness is dynamically controlled based on ambient lighting conditions
Auto screen rotation
Screen automatically rotates when devices changes orientation
Seamlessly integrated with apps
Windows location provider

12. Built-in sensor drivers
HID Sensor Class Driver
Ambient Light
Motion/orientation
Human presence / human proximity
Additional sensors
ACPI Sensor Driver (ambient light)

13. Sensor Fusion
The whole is greater than the
sum of the parts

14. What is Sensor Fusion?
The process of using multiple sensor inputs to enhance or synthesize sensor outputs.

15. Using sensor fusion in Windows 8
demo
Steering Wheel
Using sensor fusion in Windows 8

16. Sensor fusion inputs and outputs (9-axis)
3D Accelerometer
Pass-Through
Accelerometer
3D Gyro
Gyro
3D Magnetometer
Sensor Fusion
Compass
Inclinometer
Device Orientation

17. Visualizing device orientation and motion
demo
Sensor Fusion
Visualizing device orientation and motion

18. Sensor fusion implementation options
Hardware solution
Dedicated sensor processor performs heavy lifting
Leverages in-box driver support (HID sensors)
Turn key solution
Software solution
Requires custom drivers
More work required to swap out individual sensors

19. Sensor architecture and engineering considerations

20. Sensor platform overview
Blue = In Windows 8
Green = 3rd Party
Sensor APP (Metro)
Sensor Service
Sensor APP (Win32)
Metro Sensor API
Sensor API (Win32)
UMDF
Sensor Class Extension
Sensor Driver (3rd Party)
Sensor Driver (HID)
Sensor Hardware (non-HID)
Sensor Hardware (HID)

21. Simple peripheral bus sensors
Blue = In Windows 8
Green = 3rd Party
UMDF
Sensor Class Extension
Sensor Driver (3rd Party)
KMDF
Simple Peripheral Bus API
I2C Controller Driver (3rd Party)
Sensor Hardware (I2C)

22. Engineering sensor systems
Think of sensors as “systems”
Example: ALS – sensor and optics/enclosure are a system
Sensor Fusion
Placement of components is critical
Engineer with electro-magnetic interference in mind
Collaboration is key
Sensor vendor and PC manufacturer need to co-engineer and validate sensor implementations per Windows guidelines

23. Power management Sensors are powered down when screen is off
Individual sensors are powered up only when needed, example:
Screen rotation only:
accelerometer only
Motion controlled game:
accelerometer + magnetometer + gyro

24. Sensor certification
Hardware Certification Kit for Windows 8 provides guidelines and tests for sensor implementations
Used to help ensure:
Sensor apps perform consistently across PC platforms
Windows 8 system features work properly
Screen auto-rotation
Adaptive Brightness

25. Recap

26. Windows 8 and sensors
Windows 8 makes it easy to innovate with sensors in apps
Consistent hardware platform
Tools and language support for Metro style apps
Simple yet powerful interfaces for sensors
Windows 8 makes it easier to integrate sensor hardware
Built-in drivers
Simple peripheral bus support
Documentation, samples, device driver interface

27. Related sessions [HW-774T] Building great Windows 8 systems
[PLAT-781T] Using location and sensors in your app
[PLAT-754T] From touch to gamepads: master player input in your Metro style game
[HW-251T] Introducing low-power buses for Windows 8

28. Further reading and documentation
References:
Sensor Devices
Integrating Motion and Orientation Sensors with PC Hardware Running Windows Developer Preview
Windows Hardware Dev Center
Windows Dev Center
Contact info –

29. thank you Feedback and questions http://forums.dev.windows.com
Session feedback

30. 11/23/ :19 AM
© 2011 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.
The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.
© 2011 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.
The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.