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Teardown of the OnLive Gaming System

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011
The OnLive Game Console

When we got our hands on the OnLive Game Console, we were almost more excited to play with it than tear it apart. OnLive Inc. offers gamers the ability to stream games over the Internet onto their PC, Mac, or mobile device. And those who want to play these games on their TVs can purchase an OnLive controller and micro-console (connecting to the TV and wired broadband). Although other gaming systems offer this capability as well, OnLive’s system is offered at a low price point ($99 to get started, as advertised on http://www.onlive.com/), comes in a very small package, and could be an attractive second (or third) system for gamers or an entry level system for the rest of us.



The Micro-Console

The micro-console has this name for a reason: it measures approximately 13 cm x 8.5 cm. On the first side of the board, we found the hard-to-miss Marvell 88DE3010 media processor with package markings 88DE3010-BIM2/P6F06100.4/1033 C3P TW, which we have also recently analyzed.  Four Elpida 1 Gb SDRAM devices (totalling 512 MB) were found, as well. Also notable was the Samsung K9F2G08U0B 2 Gb flash, with package markings SAMSUNG 025/K9F2G08U0B/PCB0/WSE276PAC.




Micro-Console (continued)

On the second side of the board, we found a regulator by Linear Technology, with die markings Linear Technology logo/1036/LTC3589/UJ/B594316/e3. Also found was a power switch by Analog Integrations Corp. with die markings AIC1526-0/GS716J3.


The Controller

The main circuit board extracted from the game controller has a 32 bit flash microcontroller, with an ARM Cortex M3 core by STMicroelectronics, (package markings STM32F103/VBT6 1/991JQ 9U/MYS HP 033/STMicroelectronics logo/e4/ARM).


All-in-all, the OnLive system is a basic gaming device with no major silicon surprises. Nonetheless, it was very well put together. And, when combined with a game rental approach that is intuitive and cost effective, it could well be a system that finds its way into my games room.

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Teardown of the Microsoft Kinect – Focused on Motion Capture

Thursday, December 23rd, 2010
The Microsoft Kinect has been a runaway holiday success; breathing another round of life into the gaming console market. The device has been found to have more heavy lifting than expected, in the form of a Marvell applications processor, in addition to the processor for motion recognition. As we can see from the front view, it looks as though there are three sensors to detect the gestures of the player – actually, we have an infrared emitter, infrared camera, and normal light camera.

 

The PrimeSense part performs the necessary calculations to get a 3D image of the body in motion. Neither the web site, nor the reviews provide a particularly detailed/specific summary of how the system works, but a review of a PrimeSense Ltd. patent application (12/758,047) provides a nice picture (which we are using here) that is sufficient for this teardown. Essentially, the IR light source projects a pattern onto the player, which is detected by the IR camera, and variations in the pattern monitor the player’s movements. This is continously integrated with the 2D colour image from the other camera to give a 3D image of the player, which is then used to control the game being played.At right, we have also included the die markings and a metal 1 die photo.What we like about the technology is that it doesn’t load a CPU, and it is using USB PHY for on-board communications (something that we are seeing more and more of).

Infrared image sensor Aptina is the winner for the Kinect, having gained a design win for both the IR and regular color sensors. The IR camera uses the MT9M001C12STM sensor. This sensor is based on technology that is quite old when compared to the latest sensors found in camera phones or DSLR cameras. The sensor itself is a 1.3 Mp sensor with a “huge” 5.2 µm pixel size, when compared to the latest 1.1 µm sensors. Because it is receiving IR, there are no color filters needed on the pixels. IR filtering is in the module, behind the lens. Given the die markings, we didn’t dig further to find any IR-specific design features. It seems that an off the shelf sensor was sufficient. The device has three levels of aluminum metallization with a 4T pixel architecture (the last image at right is the IR emitter).

The “secondary” color sensorFor comparative purposes, we thought it would be useful to show the sensor that is used for image capturing. This device is the MT9M112, with die markings K14M. It is also a 1.3 Mp sensor, though presumably the only benefit to matching the pixel count is so that the math is easier (or as part of product lifecycle management to allow full HD resolutions to be in future versions). The pixel size in this case is a smaller 2.8 µm. I think it is fair to say that these sensors deliver the performance required by the application without adding unnecessary costs.

 

Summary of Devices Catalogued

Manufacturer Package Markings
Winbond 25Q16BV1G/1020/6744/21600ZY
Marvell logo G39/01A1P/023AB
Texas Instruments WT245/TI 04W/ZJ1M
Elpida Elpida TWN/E5116AJBG/-6E-E/1021091HE1A
   
Fairchild Semiconductor Fairchild logo PAFKR/FDS/8984
Analog Devices logo/AD8694/A #027/1899075
Texas Instruments TI ADS/7830I/03XR
Allegro Microsystems A3906/1026/432L
STMicroelectronics M29W800D8/ST logo 70ZM H/AAABA VS/TWN 99 027
 
Stereo ADCTwo Wolfson Stereo ADCs with microphone preamps were found in the Microsoft Kinect. The datasheet describes this device as a low power stereo audio ADC, designed specifically for portable applications, such as minidisc and memory audio/voice recorders.

Stereo USB audio interfaceA Texas Instruments USB streaming controller, with the package markings TAS1020B/TI logo 07W/A7SD, was also found. This device was designed specifically for applications requiring isochronous data streaming.

Application processorAn Armada Series 800 MHz application processor by Marvell was also inside the Microsoft Kinect. Interestingly, this device is typically aimed at the e-reader market

USB 2.0 controllerNEC D720114/023PG33/KOR

 

Analysis available on devices found in the Microsoft Kinect

Image Sensor Analysis on the Aptina MT9M001

High Resolution Die Photo and Metal 1 Die Photo on the PrimeSense PS1080 ASIC

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Teardown of the BallIT – blobo Game System

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

Chipworks Peeks Inside the Finnish Blobo

Ball-It blobo Teardown Case_thumb
Blobo Packaging (click image to enlarge)		 From an industry perspective MEMS devices have grown up and gone mass market from their early roots in industrial applications. The first design wins were in gaming systems and smart phones priced in the hundreds of dollars. Here we tear down a slick, low cost application that leverages all seven degrees of sensing (and you thought there were only three dimensions).The tag line for Blobo is Throw it! Swing it! Squeeze it! Surprisingly that is indeed all you need to get started. There aren’t even buttons! The new device from Ball-it, an upstart company in Finland, brings more simplicity to gaming.

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Ball-It blobo Teardown Structure_thumb
Ball-It blobo Teardown Inside1_thumb
Ball-It blobo Teardown Inside3_thumb
Ball-It blobo Teardown Inside2_thumb Blobo Teardown Images (click images to enlarge)		 Going Inside the BloboBlobo is a squeezable game controller roughly the size and shape of a golf ball
that communicates with your PC or phone via Bluetooth. It tracks movement, rotation, pressure and even magnetic fields with industry leading sensors. Blobo measures the prevailing magnetic field and its acceleration and direction hundreds of times per second. The air pressure inside the ball at any given moment allows for squeeze tracking. Blobo then sends the information relevant to the game to the user’s computer via Bluetooth. It also offers an application for smart phones. The small chips make it possible to assemble all the user interface components into this small size.
   
Ball-It blobo Teardown Front_thumb
Ball-It blobo Teardown Back_thumb Blobo Main PCB (click images to enlarge)		 Design Wins Inside the Blobo
The innovative use of sensors has enable seven degrees of sensing: three axis acceleration, three axis orientation, and pressure.The following table shows a list of the components found inside the Blobo.

Manufacturer Part number Device type
Aichi Steel AMI302 Magnetic sensor
Microchip PIC-18LF4420 Microcontroller
STMicroelectronics LIS3LV02DL Accelerometer
STMicroelectronics LPS001DL Pressure sensor
Cambridge Silicon Radio BC417143BQN Bluetooth
Silicon Storage Technology 39WF800A-90-41-B3KE Flash
   
blobo Teardown - AMI302 - ASIC  AMI302 ASIC Die Aichi Steel AMI302 Magnetic SensorMagnetic sensing is provided by an Aichi Steel AMI302 sensor. The AMI302 measures magnetic field strengths based on Magneto-Impedance (MI). Integrating three orthogonal positioned MI sensors with an ASIC allows for the measurements of magnetic fields by utilizing the MI effect in amorphous wires.
   
blobo Teardown - Accelerometer ASIC LIS3LV02DL V474B ASIC Die STMicroelectronics LIS3LV02DL AccelerometerThe LIS3LV02DL accelerometer by STMicroelectronics is used to detect linear acceleration. The LIS3LV02DL is a three-axis digital output linear accelerometer. It includes a sensing element and an IC interface used to convert information from the sensing element to provide the measured acceleration signals. The sensing element is manufactured using a dedicated process developed by STMicroelectronics to produce inertial sensors and actuators in silicon, denoted THELMATM(THick Epitaxial Layer for Microgyroscopes and Accelerometers). The IC interface is manufactured using a CMOS process that allows for optimal integration. The LIS3LV02DL is capable of measuring acceleration over a bandwidth of 640 Hz for all axes, and can perform a variety of applications such as free-fall detection and vibration monitoring.
   
blobo Teardown - Pressure Sensor Die LPS001DL PK15A Pressure Sensor Die with Cap Removed STMicroelectronics LPS001DL Pressure SensorPressure sensing is enabled with the STMicroelectronics LPS001DL pressure sensor. The LPS001DL is fabricated with ST’s VENSENSTM (VENice process for SENSor). The LPS001DL features a PK15A MEMS die and a separate V540A ASIC, both fabricated by STMicroelectronics.
   
http://www.bloboshop.com/product_thumb.php?img=images/funfit_ultimate1.jpg&w=300&h=225 While we aren’t games reviewers, we would be remiss if we didn’t take a little bit of time to “test” the system (all in a day’s work). Much like many of the Wii sports games that the Blobo will doubtlessly be compared to, we found them to be simple, good party games. Nothing blows you away – but it is quite a bit of family fun for a low entry cost. And if you buy one, you can now tell your friends how it works.
   

 

Reverse Engineering Analysis on Technology Found in the Blobo

Exploratory Analysis Report of the MEMS Sensors found in the Blobo

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Posted in Gaming Console