Bosch Unveils Groundbreaking Achievement: World’s Smallest MEMS Accelerometers

Bosch Sensortec has recently announced the release of its latest innovation - the BMA530 and BMA580, which are touted as the world's smallest MEMS accelerometers. These cutting-edge sensors offer a range of features and applications, catering to the growing demand for smaller and more efficient sensor technology.

The BMA530 is designed for wearables and boasts a step counter that accurately tracks activities. On the other hand, the BMA580 is specifically tailored for hearables and features voice activity detection. Both accelerometers have undergone significant size reduction, with a 76 percent smaller footprint and a reduced height from 0.95 mm to 0.55 mm compared to Bosch's previous generation accelerometer, the BMA253. This remarkable size reduction has been achieved through the implementation of a Wafer Level Chip Scale Package (WLCSP).

"The demand for tiny sensors with ever-increasing performance is growing as the industry moves towards more stylish and minimalist designs that require smaller sensors," stated Stefan Finkbeiner, General Manager and CEO of Bosch Sensortec. "The new BMA530 and BMA580 provide an ultra-compact, fully-featured solution to meet this demand."

The BMA580 offers a unique feature set for hearable devices, including voice activity detection. Traditionally, microphones in hearables consume a significant amount of power as they need to be constantly active to listen for voice activity. However, the BMA580 utilizes bone conduction to detect the vibration of the user's voice, allowing it to wake the microphone from sleep mode, resulting in overall power savings. Bosch claims that no other sensor on the market combines bone conduction with such a miniature sensor size.

In addition to its voice activity detection capabilities, the BMA580 enables user interaction with a hearable through tapping gestures. The sensor's software includes an algorithm that can distinguish between single, double, and triple taps, providing users with enhanced control and convenience.

Aside from wearables and hearables, the BMA530 acceleration sensor is also well-suited for various other applications. It can be utilized for gesture recognition in toys, fall detection in laptops and other devices, as well as power management functions such as putting a smartphone to sleep when it is not in use. The new accelerometers offer multiple power modes and automatically switch from low-power to high-power modes to extend battery life. They also provide a flexible set of connectivity options, including an I3C interface.

The BMA530 and BMA580 accelerometers will be available for order from distributors starting Q1 2024.

Links:

• BMA530
• BMA580