TDK is making a big play at CES 2026, announcing three new IMUs (inertial measurement units) for running motion tracking/detection algorithms on-chip that are incorporated into new products including smart glasses.
Speaking of smart glasses, TDK announced on Tuesday a customer partnership with Engo, a performance sports AR eyewear maker that relies on TDK custom sensing technology to help athletes train smarter by placing real-time training stats within the athlete’s field of view.
Engo’s AR glasses will rely on MEMS and TMR sensors with fusion software under the InvenSense PositionSense brand, TDK said. The glasses weigh the same as standard sports sunglasses, coming in at 36 grams, and feature long 12-hour battery life. Invensense is a TDK company.
“TDK’s sensors and software provide the features we need in the most compact, low-power chip,” said Engo CEO Eric Marcellin-Dibon, in a release.
PositionSense is made up of a 2 chip 9-axis sensor for absolute orientation detection and fast sensors calibration at low power. It includes InvenSense’s 6-axis IMU and TDK-3-axis TMR magnetometer with on-chip sensor fusion software and off-chip pedestrian dead reckoning software for optimal position accuracy and gesture control for AR glasses. The sensors remain in low-power mode while the glasses sleep, until other functions are called upon.
PositionSense can be used for position accuracy in smartphones, wearables, robots, drones and not only AR glasses. “We created PositionSense to enable innovations like Engo’s AR glasses—lightweight technology that empowers seamless extended reality experiences with natural user gestures,” said Rosa Chow, vice president of software at InvenSense. The sensor fusion recognizes gestures such as tap, double/triple tap, head nodding or shaking. On-chip wear sense detection for donning and doffing the glasses helps keep power usage low.
Engo has three Engo2 AR glasses models on its web site starting at $299.
TDK’s three new IMUs announced at CES are designed for ultra-low power and high performance for edge intelligence in motion tracking. The company is sensitive to the need for IMUs that can be used in compact, stylish form factors with all-day battery life. The new ICM-456xx family has BalancedGyro technology to ensure that every user head turn or UI gesture or AR overlay is “instantaneous, stable and incredibly power efficient,” said Pankaj Aggarwal, general manager of consumer and industrial motion for Invensense.
The SmartMotion ICM-45687 supports functions seen in devices such as wake-on-motion and activity classification. The second IMU, ICM-45685, focuses on smart glasses that provide wear detection or vocal vibration detection for use in identifying the source of speech through sensor fusion. Head tracking and real-time translation are supported.
The third ICM is 45606 for true wireless stereo hearable applications, like ear buds and headphones.
Song Li, director of product marketing at TDK Invensense, told Fierce in an interview that the growth of smart glasses will accelerate in 2026. “Everywhere you will see smart glasses, and every big company is releasing smart glasses,” he said.
While there is plenty of hype with smart glasses combined with AI, Li said smart glasses provide users a “more natural interface” for viewing content and the world. “If you use smart glasses, it give you a different perspective. With a camera in smart glasses from a person’s view, it is much easier for AI to understand.”
Li admitted that smart glasses in general so far have “not been optimal, and a lot needs to be improved” including by the addition of IMUs like those TDK Invensense is creating.