New Programmable Smart Sensors by Bosch Reduce Power Usage in IoT Devices, Wearables, Hearables and AR/VR Systems
Bosch Sensortec’s BHI260AB and BHA260AB smart sensors are optimised for 24/7, always-on sensor processing, substantially reducing system power consumption in mobile, battery-operated devices.
Integrating a powerful sensor co-processor and MEMS sensors into a single, small package, the Bosch BHI260AB and BHA260AB can handle sophisticated sensor-processing tasks and data buffering without waking up a host applications processor. They can also run in entirely stand-alone mode.
To cut time-to-market and reduce OEMs’ design effort, Bosch Sensortec has created an open development platform for the BHI260AB and BHA260AB. This includes a comprehensive integrated software framework in ROM, evaluation kits, and a software development kit.
To facilitate more complex processing tasks such as automated activity recognition and context awareness, the Bosch BHI260AB and BHA260AB feature the Fuser2 32-bit floating-point CPU, which includes 256kbytes of on-chip SRAM. The CPU draws just 950µA at 20MHz in the power-saving ‘long run' mode, and 2.8mA at 50MHz in high-performance mode. The processor achieves a CoreMark score of up to 3.6/MHz.
The new Bosch BHI and BHA smart sensor families include state-of-the-art 16-bit MEMS sensors, and a six-axis Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) in the BHI260AB or a three-axis accelerometer in the BHA260AB.
Extensive support for connectivity includes up to 25 GPIOs in the BHI260AB and up to 12 GPIOs in the BHA260AB. Other sensor devices, including satellite positioning receivers and various localisation systems, can easily be interfaced to the Bosch sensors.
These Bosch smart sensors are compact enough to easily fit into small products such as hearable or wearable devices. The BHI260AB is supplied in a 44-pad LGA package and measures just 3.6mm x 4.1mm x 0.83mm. The BHA260AB is packaged in a 22-pad LGA package and measures 2.7mm x 2.6mm x 0.8mm.
Bosch Sensortec also supplies the BMP388, a high-performance MEMS barometric pressure sensor. It is ideally suited to altitude tracking in Consumer Electronics (CE) drones, as well as wearable devices, smart home systems and other applications.
In addition, Bosch’s BMA456 hearable accelerometer is the industry’s only accelerometer with hearable features integrated in a single sensor. It complements the existing BMA456 wearable sensor, and enables manufacturers to design smaller and more accurate hearable devices offering lower power consumption while increasing their performance.
Features (BHx260AB)
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