Sensor solutions enable wearable devices

A personal alarm clock in your wristband, which makes not only sure that you get up in time but also that you get up at the right time according to your biorhythm. A smart watch, which improves your well-being by detecting the air quality of your environment. Smart fitness wear, which improves the efficiency of your workout by measuring your speed and calorie consumption.

What do all these wearable applications have in common? They are enabled by almost invisible MEMS sensors and sensor solutions (MEMS: micro-electromechanical systems).

Wearables are no longer a futuristic prophecy but already around us in many everyday life situations. The idea of ubiquitous computing is the notion of a technology, which is part of our daily routines and makes our life easier, safer and more convenient.

Wearables go wear where you go, augment your natural perception to feel and sense yourself and the world around you. This is the point where the sensors come into play. MEMS sensors and solutions are the key technologies to enable wearable devices. They are hidden heroes, which change our everyday life by teaching things to feel.

Accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers and all the other sensors are the sensory organs of modern technical systems. Tiny, intelligent, robust, and energy-efficient.

Bosch is a pioneer and the global leader in the manufacture of MEMS technology

Bosch is the world’s leading manufacturer of MEMS sensors. Since the start of production in 1995, the company has manufactured more than six billion of them.

Bosch continuously pushes the limits from generation to generation by defining a state of the art sensor portfolio. This relentless innovation process opens the way to solve challenges given by wearables applications.

Powerful, energy-efficient, cost-effective sensors for new connected solutions

Users of wearable devices such as smart watches or augmented-reality glasses often wish for longer battery runtimes, smaller designs, more affordable products, and more functions. However, the level of integration of functionality comes to a natural end when the battery life drops to fast.

Such challenges drive Bosch to continuously improve and push forward existing standards and technologies. The BMI160 for example is the first state of the art Inertial Measurement Unit (combining accelerometer and gyroscope) that runs below 1 mA in full operation mode. This opens up a wide variety of applications that were so far not possible due to power restrictions.

Therefore, the Bosch Sensortec sensors and solutions do not only enable meaningful wearable applications but also improve people’s individual lifestyle and well-being.