Epson 2015 Annual Report Download - page 31

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30
blocked.
Devices and precision products
In the microdevices business, the Company commercialized a new series of microcontrollers with 16-bit flash
memory built in. These low-power microcontrollers operate on 1.2 V and are designed specifically for small
sensor products, such as electronic locks, motion sensors, and gas alarms used in the industrial and housing
sectors, as well as for wearable products that will be paired with smartphones.
By eliminating the circuitry for a liquid crystal display, Epson was able to reduce the surface area of these
products by up to 87% compared with earlier models.
Sensing and industrial solutions
The Company released Pulsense activity trackers that monitor heart rate, exercise intensity, caloric intake and
consumption, sleep quality, and stress level comfortably at the wrist. In addition to measuring acceleration,
these products are equipped with a unique Epson sensor that accurately measures pulse by using the
light-absorbing property of hemoglobin in blood. The sensor works by shining light from an LED on blood
vessels near the surface of the skin of the wrist and measuring blood flow based on the amount of reflected light.
All of the data taken with Pulsense products can be uploaded to a PC or smartphone for review and analysis
using a special website or mobile app. These activity monitors can continuously track the wearer’s heart rate for
up to about 36 hours at a time and can thus record the wearer’s activity, whether exercise or sleep patterns,
around the clock.
The Company also released a new IC test handler that is perfectly suited for use in testing smartphone ICs,
demand for which remains robust. This handler has the same basic features of its predecessor, but we increased
the standard contact pressure it exerts when plugging ICs into test sockets, to allow the handler to accommodate
chips with high pin counts. The handler gives users flexibility in designing their test environments, because the
hands that transport ICs inside the system can be configured for either inline 4-site test mode5 or square 4-site
test mode6, and the handler can also be upgraded to an 8-site test mode7.
5A mode in which four ICs are simultaneously tested in a series
6A mode in which four ICs are arranged in a 2 x 2 configuration for simultaneous testing
7A mode in which eight ICs are simultaneously tested