Digital Triaxial Accelerometer enhances touch recognition.
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Press Release Summary:
Supplied in 3 x 3 x 0.9 mm package, BMA120 recognizes spatial position and positional changes of mobile devices and classifies them within random movement, rotational movement, tapping, and fast/slow categories. Programmable interrupt controller directs mobile phone functions according to targeted movements of device. Supporting 4 programmable measuring ranges from ±2 to ±16 g, sensor provides SPI and I²C interfaces and interrupt output as well as low-power and programmable sleep modes.
Original Press Release:
New Digital Triaxial Accelerometer
The BMA120 from Bosch Sensortec automatically recognizes the spatial position and positional changes of mobile devices
For basic applications in modern mobile phones
o The programmable interrupt controller directs mobile phone functions according to targeted movements of the device
o No external microcontroller is required for movement detection
o Integrated power management supports energy-saving operation
Bosch Sensortec introduced the new, digital, triaxial BMA120 acceleration sensor. The particular feature of this new sensor is the integrated programmable interrupt controller within the minimal dimensions (3 mm x 3 mm x 0.9 mm) of the BMA120's LGA housing. The interrupt controller automatically checks the internal incoming measuring signals for the trigger conditions linked to four characteristic movement sequences. If a condition is met, the controller signals the evaluation electronics. An external controller for constant signal evaluation is no longer necessary, which recommends the BMA120 in particular for applications in which the focus is on less complicated recognitions of movements.
The interrupt-controller enables new functions
Application examples include pedometers, the detection of tap patterns comparable to fingertips on notebook touch pads, and the recognition of the position of hand held devices in three-dimensional space, such as is necessary for game controllers, or to automatically rotate the display contents (vertical/horizontal) on modern mobile telephones. The new acceleration sensor has four programmable measuring ranges from ±2 g to ±16 g; the two SPI and I2 C digital interfaces and an interrupt output handle the data output.
The interrupt controller's job is to classify the various movements, to which a mobile device can be subjected, into 4 movement categories:
- Random movement: Usually used to "wake up" a mobile device from the stand-by mode
- Rotational movement: Effects targeted rotation of displayed contents according to whether the mobile device is held vertically or horizontally in the user's hand (Portrait/landscape)
- Tapping: Single or double taps on the mobile device trigger various functions, for example, muting a ring tone
- Fast/slow: Optional control functions according to the speed of a movement, for example, automatic emergency call in response to vigorous shaking of a mobile phone
Important parameters for this for movement categories can be programmed by the user. One example is the threshold value at which a movement is no longer slow but is fast, another is the temporal distance between events, i.e. at which point two taps are evaluated as a double tap. When the interrupt controller recognizes a programmed movement, it sets the interrupt output from logical "0" to "1". Details about the recognized pattern can be queried through the digital interfaces. Tools are already available for the development of necessary applications, as are drivers for the various operating systems: Windows Mobile, Linux, and Android.
To extend battery life, the BMA120 can operate using the low-power mode in which it only becomes momentarily active at certain intervals, every two seconds, for example. A sleep mode can also be programmed, from which the sensor "wakes up" (self wake up), which takes less than a millisecond from when the movement is recorded by the sensor. Like all Bosch Sensortec g-sensors, this new product also offers programmable low-pass filters for signal conditioning, compliance with the RoHS guidelines, as well as a housing that is halogen-free and therefore environmentally friendly.
The sensors are available immediately in quantity.
About Bosch Sensortec
Bosch Sensortec GmbH, a 100 percent subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH, offers micromechanical sensors and their application for consumer electronics, security systems and logistics. Its product portfolio to date includes triaxial acceleration sensors as well as pressure sensors. The company was founded in early 2005 and is headquartered near Reutlingen to the south of Stuttgart (Germany). For more information about Bosch Sensortec, visit www.bosch-sensortec.com.
About Bosch
Bosch has been active in the field of MEMS since 1988, being one of the pioneers in this technology. Today, hundreds of engineers of the Bosch Group work in the field of MEMS. A wide selection of products - from pressure and acceleration sensors to yaw-rate sensors - is manufactured for the automotive industry. Annual production at Bosch is more than 200 million sensors.
The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. In the areas of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology, some 280,000 associates generated sales of 45.1 billion euros in fiscal 2008. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its more than 300 subsidiaries and regional companies in over 60 countries. If its sales and service partners are included, then Bosch is represented in roughly 150 countries. This worldwide development, manufacturing, and sales network is the foundation for further growth. Each year, Bosch spends more than 3.5 billion euros, or eight percent of its sales revenue, for research and development, and applies for over 3,000 patents worldwide. With all its products and services, Bosch enhances the quality of life by providing solutions which are both innovative and beneficial.
The company was set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as "Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering." The special ownership structure of Robert Bosch GmbH guarantees the entrepreneurial freedom of the Bosch Group, making it possible for the company to plan over the long term and to undertake significant up-front investments in the safeguarding of its future. Ninety-two percent of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH is held by Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, a charitable foundation. The majority of voting rights are held by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG, an industrial trust. The entrepreneurial ownership functions are carried out by the trust. The remaining shares are held by the Bosch family and by Robert Bosch GmbH.
Additional information can be accessed at www.bosch.com.
