SensorDynamics was a European semiconductor and

MEMS Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), also written as micro-electro-mechanical systems (or microelectronic and microelectromechanical systems) and the related micromechatronics and microsystems constitute the technology of microscopic devices, ...

company specialized in developing and manufacturing high-volume

micro Micro may refer to: Measurement * micro- (μ), a metric prefix denoting a factor of 10−6 Places * Micro, North Carolina, town in U.S. People * DJ Micro, (born Michael Marsicano) an American trance DJ and producer *Chii Tomiya (都宮ちい ...

- and

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...

semiconductor A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical resistivity and conductivity, electrical conductivity value falling between that of a electrical conductor, conductor, such as copper, and an insulator (electricity), insulator, such as glas ...

sensor A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends ...

products for applications in automotive, industry and high-end consumer sectors. The company was acquired by Maxim Integrated in 2011 for $164 million. SensorDynamics developed and produced custom-made designs and standard components for use in vehicle stabilization, occupant protection, navigation systems,

keyless go A smart key is an electronics, electronic access and authorization system that is available either as standard equipment, or as an option in several car designs. It was first developed by Siemens in 1995 and introduced by Mercedes-Benz under the n ...

systems and autonomous energy generators for wireless and battery free controllers for industrial, automotive and high-end consumer application. With its headquarters in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, SensorDynamics had offices in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and a worldwide sales and distribution network. The company employed about 130 people in 2011.

History

SensorDynamics was founded in 2003 by Herbert Gartner, Hubertus Christ, Jürgen Tittel and Volker Kempe. Financed by national and international Venture Capital investors the company successfully closed four equity rounds in 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2011. In 2005 SensorDynamics was ranked under the top 100 European high tech companies by Tornado Insider and awarded the Fast Forward Award 2005 in Austria. From the beginning the Company strongly cooperated with the Institute of Silicon Technology

Fraunhofer Society The Fraunhofer Society (german: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V., lit=Fraunhofer Society for the Advancement of Applied Research) is a German research organization with 76institutes spread throughout Germany ...

in Itzehoe and expanded this cooperation with long-term agreements in 2007. In October 2007 SensorDynamics started a deep cooperation with US consumer electronics supplie
Kionix
In August 2008

EnOcean The EnOcean technology is an energy harvesting wireless technology used primarily in building automation systems, but also in other application fields such as industry, transportation, logistics or smart homes solutions. The energy harvesting wire ...

and SensorDynamics announced the launch world's first energy harvesting system on chip SOC product. In March 2009 SensorDynamics launched

gyroscopes for industrial, medical and consumer applications. In November 200
Chipworks
selected SensorDynamics'

product SD755 as product of the year 2009. In November 2010 SensorDynamics announced XY angular rate and an XYZ angular rate devices in 6x6x1.8 mm3 QFN40-packages. In December 2010 SensorDynamics announced worldwide's first fully characterized and specified 6 x 6 x 1.2 mm 6DoF

IMU IMU may refer to: Science and technology * Inertial measurement unit, a device that measures acceleration and rotation, used for example to maneuver modern vehicles including motorcycles, missiles, air- and spacecraft Businesses and organizations ...

(six degrees of freedom inertial measurement unit) including evaluation boards. In July 2011 SensorDynamics was acquired by Maxim Integrated, a recognized leader in analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products. Maxim Integrated, headquartered in San Jose, California, is in Fortune 1000, and is included in the NASDAQ-100, the

Russell 1000 The Russell 1000 Index is a stock market index that tracks the highest-ranking 1,000 stocks in the Russell 3000 Index, which represent about 93% of the total market capitalization of that index. , the stocks of the Russell 1000 Index had a weight ...

, and MSCI USA indices. Maxim was paying $164 million to acquire SensorDynamics.

Product portfolio

SensorDynamics focused on three product groups, for each of which the company had created a development platform to guarantee a maximum re-use of silicon proven analogue and digital IPs. This was the basis for both application-specific developments and adaptations of existing products.

Inertial microsensor systems

SensorDynamics had developed and produced world's first

combo sensors in combining

motion sensors ( angular rate and/or acceleration) with sophisticated analogue-digital electronics (ASIC) in micro packages to form a large-scale of integrated micro sensor system. Applications included electronic stabilization systems, rollover detection and navigation sets for ’blind reckoning’ without

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...

support.

Intelligent sensor interface circuits

SensorDynamics had a wealth of expertise in the development and manufacturing of intelligent electronic signal conditioning circuitry of macro sensors such as core and planar coils,

resistor A resistor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that implements electrical resistance as a circuit element. In electronic circuits, resistors are used to reduce current flow, adjust signal levels, to divide voltages, bias active el ...

s, capacitive and magneto resistive sensors. Cooperation with the customer produces application-specific sensor systems that combined macro sensors and electronic signal conditioning at module level.

Wireless sensors

Examples of wireless sensors were to be found in ‘

Keyless go A smart key is an electronics, electronic access and authorization system that is available either as standard equipment, or as an option in several car designs. It was first developed by Siemens in 1995 and introduced by Mercedes-Benz under the n ...

’ or tyre pressure systems. However,

and battery-less sensor systems are increasingly adopted in industrial applications; especially automation such as smart LF/ RF applications. Energy harvesting, in other words powering devices from the energy produced by movement, heat or light, was enabled by SensorDynamics' system on chip SOC products. Sensor systems that incorporated energy use optimization management – integrated processing of sensor signals through to the transmission of control signals at radio frequencies – was a special discipline of SensorDynamics.

Key people

* Herbert Gartner (Founder,

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

04/2003 - 09/2003, CFO 09/2003 - 03/2012) * Hubertus Christ (Founder,

09/2003 - 03/2012) * Volker Kempe (Founder) * Jürgen Tittel (Founder)

Management and team

The company had about 130 employees world-wide when it was acquired by Maxim Integrated in July 2011. Their key qualifications included: extensive experience in sensor system development,

and

technology, testing and

quality assurance Quality assurance (QA) is the term used in both manufacturing and service industries to describe the systematic efforts taken to ensure that the product(s) delivered to customer(s) meet with the contractual and other agreed upon performance, design ...

as well as deep knowledge of the

automotive electronics Automotive electronics are electronic systems used in vehicles, including engine management, ignition, radio, carputers, telematics, in-car entertainment systems, and others. Ignition, engine and transmission electronics are also found in trucks, ...

market and strong applications expertise. SensorDynamics as a company had been operational as such since 2003, although the nucleus of the team worked together in prior companies since the 1990s.

Quality and environmental management

As SensorDynamics was also providing sensitive integrated products and systems to the automotive market, the quality and environmental management system was based on the ISO/TS16949 and

ISO 14001 ISO 14000 is a family of standards related to environmental management that exists to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations (processes, etc.) negatively affect the environment (i.e. cause adverse changes to air, water, or land); (b ...

standard. SensorDynamics satisfied all automotive quality requirements (i.e. ISO/TS16949,

IEC61508 IEC 61508 is an international standard published by the International Electrotechnical Commission consisting of methods on how to apply, design, deploy and maintain automatic protection systems called safety-related systems. It is titled ''Functio ...

, ISO 26262, AEC Q100).

Key investors

I4G Investment GmbH
(2003 - 2011);
Siemens Venture Capital
(2004 - 2011);
DEWB
(2004 - 2011);
Steirische Beteiligungsfinanzierungsgesellschaft mbH
(2004 -2011);
FIDURA Private Equity Fonds
(2007 - 2011);
PONTIS Capital
(2007 -2011);
Global Equity Partners
(2004 - 2009);
Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH
(2003 - 2011);
Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)
(2004 - today);

References

Additional References

BusinessWeek

SensorDynamics Launches Gyroscope for Industrial, Medical and Consumer Applications

* [http://www.isit.fraunhofer.de/de/Aktuelles/20050916_isit_und_sd_setzen_neue_massstaebe.html Das Fraunhofer ISIT und die SensorDynamics AG setzen bei der Entwicklung und Fertigung komplexer Mikrosysteme neue Maßstäbe]
ISIT präsentiert auf der Hannover Messe: Intelligente Bewegungssensorik für die Automobilindustrie
{{DEFAULTSORT:SensorDynamics Semiconductor companies of Austria Fabless semiconductor companies 2011 mergers and acquisitions