Himax Teams Up with DESMAN to Unveil Revolutionary High-End Smart Door Locks at CES 2024

Rhea-AI Summary

Himax Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: HIMX) and Zhejiang DESMAN Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. announce the unveiling of the advanced high-end smart door lock, Shotax Sentinel Cat Eye, at CES 2024. The innovative system features Himax’s WiseEye technology, addressing long wake-up time and high power consumption issues in smart door locks. It achieves 24/7 real-time monitoring with ultralow power consumption, marking a significant technological advancement for smart home security.

Market Research Analyst

The introduction of the Shotax Sentinel Cat Eye smart door lock, powered by Himax WiseEye technology, represents a notable advancement in the smart home security market. The technology's capability to deliver ultralow power consumption and near-instantaneous snapshot activation addresses two major limitations faced by current smart door locks: high power consumption and delayed wake-up times. By enhancing the efficiency and responsiveness of these devices, Himax and DESMAN are likely to capture a larger market share within the growing smart home industry.

From a market perspective, this innovation has the potential to set a new standard for power efficiency and security in smart locks, which could pressure competitors to innovate or adopt similar technologies to remain competitive. As consumer awareness and demand for smart home security increases, the ability to offer 24/7 real-time monitoring with minimal power usage could become a key differentiator. This technological edge may translate into an increase in sales and market penetration for Himax and DESMAN, potentially impacting Himax's stock performance positively if the product gains substantial market acceptance.

Financial Analyst

The financial implications of the Shotax Sentinel Cat Eye's release are multifaceted. On one hand, the reduction in power consumption from an average of 200 mA per snapshot to a mere 1 mA represents a significant decrease in operational costs for end-users, which could drive up the product's adoption rate. Moreover, the quick activation time of less than 7 milliseconds is an impressive technical achievement that could lead to a patentable technology, providing Himax with potential licensing revenue streams or a competitive moat.

Investors should monitor the adoption rate of this technology post-launch, as it could serve as an indicator of Himax's ability to innovate and execute. High adoption rates could lead to increased revenue and potentially higher profitability due to economies of scale. Conversely, investors should also consider the R&D and marketing expenses associated with bringing such cutting-edge technology to market, which may affect short-term financials. Long-term, if this technology becomes an industry standard, Himax could benefit from first-mover advantage, but they must also be prepared to continuously innovate to maintain their lead.

Technology Industry Analyst

The Shotax Sentinel Cat Eye system's integration of WiseEye AI technology is a significant leap forward in the realm of smart home devices. WiseEye's capability to provide continuous monitoring with ultralow power consumption is not just a marginal improvement; it's a game-changing feature that addresses the sustainability and usability concerns prevalent in the current generation of smart home security devices. This could lead to increased consumer trust and reliance on smart home security systems, thereby expanding the overall market.

It is essential to consider the broader technological ecosystem in which this product will operate. The compatibility with cloud services and the potential for integration with other smart home devices and platforms could further enhance the value proposition of the Shotax Sentinel Cat Eye system. The ability to offer a comprehensive security solution that is both efficient and easily integrated could spur advancements across the industry, prompting further innovation and potentially leading to new standards for IoT (Internet of Things) devices.

Cutting-Edge Sentinel Cat-Eye System Powered by Himax WiseEye™ Technology, Enables 24/7 Doorway Security Monitoring

TAINAN, Taiwan and ZHEJIANG, China, Jan. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Himax Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: HIMX) (“Himax” or “Company”), a leading supplier and fabless manufacturer of display drivers and other semiconductor products, and Zhejiang DESMAN Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. (“DESMAN”), a Chinese leading brand in the smart door lock market, today jointly announced an advanced high-end smart door lock to be unveiled at CES 2024. The innovative Shotax Sentinel Cat Eye smart door lock features Himax’s WiseEye technology, with potent vision AI and ultralow power consumption as key technical characteristics for the realization of 24/7 real-time monitoring and consecutive snapshot. This marks a significant technological advancement for power efficiency and security benchmark in smart home security.

Most conventional smart door locks on the market have two primary problems, long wake-up time and high power consumption. The typical 2 to 6 seconds wake-up time for snapshot mode, presents a security concern due to missed captures. Meanwhile, the average power consumption for each snapshot is around 200 mA. Constrained by limited battery power, these locks can only capture images when detecting someone lingering outside the door, thereby restricting their capacity for continuous full-day snapshot captures. The Shotax Sentinel Cat Eye smart door lock system, leveraging Himax ultralow power WiseEye AI technology, achieves a snapshot with power consumption as low as 1 mA, enabling uninterrupted 24-hour snapshot functionality. Furthermore, the system can promptly activate snapshots within less than 7 milliseconds, significantly mitigating the risk of missed footage captures. This advancement enhances the system's continuous monitoring capability, further conserves power, and effectively extends battery life. The WiseEye technology has reached a significant technological milestone in enabling 24/7 monitoring for smart door locks. Combined with cloud services, it ensures that users, regardless of their location, can stay informed in real-time about the latest activities at their doorways, enhancing home security while enjoying a better user experience.

Himax remains steadfast in its commitment to enhancing the performance of ultralow power WiseEye solutions and propelling advanced AI inferences, such as face recognition and personnel detection capabilities, into next generation smart door locks. As an illustration, these innovative AI features determine whether a lingering individual is suspicious by matching with the trusted database. Upon confirmation of a suspicious event, the live video recording function is triggered. Himax WiseEye AI not only helps filter out false activation but also reduces the power consumption of the smart door lock, thereby further optimizing computing energy efficiency and prolonging battery lifespan of the whole system.

“The collaboration with Himax to launch the dual cat eye smart door lock with Shotax Sentinel Cat Eye module, is designed to effectively mitigate the risk of missed footage capture. The all-day ultralow power snapshot capture functionality allows customers to enjoy 24-hour monitoring without the need for frequent battery replacement. Additionally, customers can review the playback on cloud at any time, enabling all-round and monitoring to ensure household safety,” said Mr. Sonne Sang, R&D Director at DESMAN.

“The swift integration of WiseEye technology in the smart lock sector well validates our capability to drive revolutionary breakthroughs in the industry. This collaboration with DESMAN marks a significant milestone for Himax in the smart home domain,” said Mr. Mark Chen, Vice President of Smart Sensing business at Himax. “Moving forward, Himax is committed to advancing its WiseEye product to deliver energy-efficient smart sensing AI solutions for the smart home market. Our goal is to provide consumers with a safer and more convenient way of life,” concluded Mr. Chen.

Himax and DESMAN invite all interested parties to stop by our exhibition booth at The Venetian Las Vegas Hotel (3355 Las Vegas Boulevard S, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA) Venetian Exhibit Suite 34-208 to experience the parties’ state-of-the-art technologies in Smart Door Lock applications. To schedule a meeting or booth tour, please contact Himax at: Himax_CES@himax.com.tw and DESMAN yuying.chen@dessmann.com.cn

About Himax Technologies, Inc.

Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIMX) is a leading global fabless semiconductor solution provider dedicated to display imaging processing technologies. The Company’s display driver ICs and timing controllers have been adopted at scale across multiple industries worldwide including TVs, PC monitors, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, automotive, ePaper devices, industrial displays, among others. As the global market share leader in automotive display technology, the Company offers innovative and comprehensive automotive IC solutions, including traditional driver ICs, advanced in-cell Touch and Display Driver Integration (TDDI), local dimming timing controllers (Local Dimming Tcon), Large Touch and Display Driver Integration (LTDI) and AMOLED display technologies. Himax is also a pioneer in tinyML visual-AI and optical technology related fields. The Company’s industry-leading WiseEye^TM Smart Sensing technology which incorporates Himax proprietary ultralow power AI processor, always-on CMOS image sensor, and CNN-based AI algorithm has been widely deployed in consumer electronics and AIoT related applications. While Himax optics technologies, such as diffractive wafer level optics, LCoS micro-displays and 3D sensing solutions, are critical for facilitating emerging AR/VR/metaverse technologies. Additionally, Himax designs and provides touch controllers, AMOLED ICs, LED drivers, EPD drivers, power management ICs, and CMOS image sensors for diverse display application coverage. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Tainan, Taiwan, Himax currently employs around 2,200 people from three Taiwan-based offices in Tainan, Hsinchu and Taipei and country offices in China, Korea, Japan, Germany, and the US. Himax has 2,838 patents granted and 376 patents pending approval worldwide as of September 30, 2023.

http://www.himax.com.tw

Forward Looking Statements

Factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in this conference call include, but are not limited to, the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Company’s business; general business and economic conditions and the state of the semiconductor industry; market acceptance and competitiveness of the driver and non-driver products developed by the Company; demand for end-use applications products; reliance on a small group of principal customers; the uncertainty of continued success in technological innovations; our ability to develop and protect our intellectual property; pricing pressures including declines in average selling prices; changes in customer order patterns; changes in estimated full-year effective tax rate; shortage in supply of key components; changes in environmental laws and regulations; changes in export license regulated by Export Administration Regulations (EAR); exchange rate fluctuations; regulatory approvals for further investments in our subsidiaries; our ability to collect accounts receivable and manage inventory and other risks described from time to time in the Company’s SEC filings, including those risks identified in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in its Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the SEC, as may be amended.

DESMAN Contact:

Yuying Chen, Branding Department
Zhejiang DESMAN Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.
Tel: +86-173-26097625
Email: yuying.chen@dessmann.com.cn
http://www.dessmannlock.com

Himax Contacts:

Eric Li, Chief IR/PR Officer
Himax Technologies, Inc.
Tel: +886-6-505-0880
Fax: +886-2-2314-0877
Email: hx_ir@himax.com.tw
www.himax.com.tw

Karen Tiao, Investor Relations
Himax Technologies, Inc.
Tel: +886-2-2370-3999
Fax: +886-2-2314-0877
Email: hx_ir@himax.com.tw
www.himax.com.tw

Mark Schwalenberg, Director
Investor Relations - US Representative
MZ North America

Tel: +1-312-261-6430
Email: HIMX@mzgroup.us
www.mzgroup.us

FAQ

What is the name of the company mentioned in the press release and its ticker symbol?

The company mentioned in the press release is Himax Technologies, Inc. and its ticker symbol is HIMX.

What is the innovative feature of the Shotax Sentinel Cat Eye smart door lock?

The innovative feature of the Shotax Sentinel Cat Eye smart door lock is the Himax WiseEye technology, which enables 24/7 real-time monitoring and consecutive snapshot with ultralow power consumption.

What are the primary problems addressed by the Himax WiseEye technology in smart door locks?

The Himax WiseEye technology addresses long wake-up time and high power consumption issues in conventional smart door locks.

How does the Himax ultralow power WiseEye AI technology enhance the smart door lock system?

The Himax ultralow power WiseEye AI technology achieves a snapshot with power consumption as low as 1 mA, enabling uninterrupted 24-hour snapshot functionality and significantly mitigating the risk of missed footage captures.

What is the significance of the WiseEye technology in enabling 24/7 monitoring for smart door locks?

The WiseEye technology has reached a significant technological milestone in enabling 24/7 monitoring for smart door locks, ensuring real-time monitoring for users regardless of their location.