Dialog Semiconductor plc announces a collaboration with Bosch Sensortec to create an extremely low power smart sensor platform that combines Bosch Sensortec’s sensors with Dialog’s Bluetooth Smart technology.
The product resulting from the collaboration is the world’s lowest power 12-DOF smart sensor reference platform for gesture recognition in wearable computing devices and immersive gaming, including augmented reality, and 3D indoor mapping and navigation.
The platform combines Dialog’s DA14580 Bluetooth Smart System-on-Chip (SoC) with three low power sensors from Bosch Sensortec: the BMM150 for 3-axis geo-magnetic field measurement, the BME280 pressure, humidity and temperature sensor, and the 6-axis BMI160 (a combination of a 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope in one chip). The resulting unit, built onto a 14 x 14 mm2 printed circuit board, consumes less than 500 µA from a 3V coin cell when updating and transferring all 12 x 16 bits of data wirelessly to a smartphone.
Udo-Martin Gomez, CTO of Bosch Sensortec, says: “The result of this close cooperation between Bosch Sensortec and Dialog is the world’s lowest power Bluetooth Smart connected sensors platform. Higher functional integration and lower power consumption are key design goals for devices at the heart of mobile consumer electronic products. From our companies’ joint experience, we see many opportunities to deliver competitive advantages for our customers by creating smaller, highly integrated and more energy efficient smart connected solutions.”
Mark Tyndall, SVP of Corporate Development and Strategy at Dialog says, “Our work with Bosch Sensortec is bringing together best-in-class Bluetooth, power management and sensor technologies that enable our customers to develop high-performance, innovative products with exceptionally long battery life. Combining the complementary talents of our respective design teams enables us to keep customers at the forefront of technology as the IoT market continues to evolve.”
Platform technical summary
The DA14580 SmartBond(TM) SoC, which has already been adopted by numerous leading manufacturers of wearables, integrates a Bluetooth Smart radio with an ARM(R) Cortex(TM)-M0 application processor and intelligent power management. It more than doubles the battery life of an application-enabled smartphone accessory, wearable device or computer peripheral in comparison with competing solutions. The DA14580 includes a variety of analogue and digital interfaces and features less than 15 mW power consumption in active mode and 600 nA standby current. It is half the size of rivals, measuring 2.5 x 2.5 x 0.5 mm.
Bosch Sensortec’s BMI160 6-axis Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) integrates a 16 bit, 3-axis, low-g accelerometer and an ultra-low power 3-axis gyroscope within a single package. When the accelerometer and gyroscope are in full operation mode, the typical current consumption is 950 µA, only half of that of its nearest rivals.
The BMM150 integrates a compact 3-axis geo-magnetic field sensor using Bosch Sensortec’s high performance FlipCore technology.
The BME280 Integrated Environmental Unit combines sensors for barometric pressure, humidity and temperature measurement within a single package. The precise altitude measurement function of the BME280 is a key requirement in applications such as indoor navigation with floor tracking. Additionally, the BME280 has best-in-class response time for humidity determination of one second only, accurate ambient temperature measurement and very low current consumption.
About Dialog Semiconductor
Dialog Semiconductor provides highly integrated standard (ASSP) and custom (ASIC) mixed-signal integrated circuits (ICs), optimised for mobile computing, IoT, smart home and lighting applications. Dialog brings decades of experience to the rapid development of ICs while providing flexible and dynamic support, world-class innovation and the assurance of dealing with an established business partner. With world-class manufacturing partners, Dialog operates a fabless business model and is a socially responsible employer pursuing many programs to benefit the employees, community, other stakeholders and the environment we operate in.
Dialog’s power saving technologies including DC-DC configurable system power management deliver high efficiency and enhance the consumer’s user experience by extending battery lifetime and enabling faster charging of their portable devices. Its technology portfolio also includes audio, Bluetooth(R) Smart, Rapid Charge(TM) AC/DC power conversion and multi-touch.
Dialog Semiconductor plc is headquartered in London with a global sales, R&D and marketing organisation. In 2014, it had approximately $1.16 billion in revenue and was one of the fastest growing European public semiconductor companies. It currently has approximately 1,500 employees worldwide. The company is listed on the Frankfurt (XETRA: DLG) stock exchange (Regulated Market, Prime Standard, ISIN GB0059822006) and is a member of the German TecDax index.
About Bosch Sensortec
Bosch Sensortec GmbH is a fully owned subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH dedicated to the world of consumer electronics; offering a complete portfolio of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) based sensors and solutions that enable mobile devices to feel and sense the world around them. Bosch Sensortec develops and markets a broad portfolio of MEMS sensors, solutions and systems for applications in smart phones, tablets, wearable devices, and various products for the IoT.
The product portfolio includes a wide range of inertial (acceleration, yaw rate), geomagnetic and environmental sensors (barometric pressure, humidity and gas) as well as the corresponding software portfolio, which is also offered embedded within intelligent sensors. Since its foundation in 2005, Bosch Sensortec has emerged as the technology leader in the addressed markets. The Bosch Group has been the global market leader for MEMS sensors since 1998 selling more than 6 billion MEMS sensors to date.
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