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Bosch Sensortec introduced the BMP380, the company’s smallest barometric pressure sensor with a 2.0 x 2.0 x 0.75 mm³ footprint, which is one-third smaller than the previous generation BMP280.
The BMP380 targets a variety of applications including gaming, sports and health management markets as well as indoor and outdoor navigation. “By measuring barometric pressure, the sensor enables drones, smartphones, tablets, wearables and other mobile devices to accurately determine altitude changes, in both indoor and outdoor environments,” said Bosch.
The single package solution can be easily integrated into both existing and new applications and devices, said Bosch. Typical applications for the BMP380 include altitude stabilization in drones, where altitude information is used to improve flight stability and landing accuracy.
Another potential application is for improving calorie expenditure measurement accuracy in wearables and mobile devices. This includes identifying whether a person is walking upstairs or downstairs in a step tracking application. It also is said to deliver improved precision to outdoor/indoor navigation and localization applications by using altitude data to determine the user’s floor level in a building, and enhancing GPS accuracy outdoors.
The sensor features a new built-in FIFO of 512 byte and an interrupt functionality that provides simple access to data and storage. It does two things – improves ease of use and helps reduce power consumption to only 2.0 µA at 1 Hz during full operation.
The sensor is more accurate than its predecessors, said the company, covering a wide measurement range from 300 hPA to 1250 hPA. Tests in real-life environments have verified a relative accuracy of +/-0.06 hPa (+/-0.5m) over a temperature range from 25°C to 40°C, according to Bosch. The absolute accuracy between 300 and 1100 hPa is +/- 0.5 hPa over a temperature range from 0°C to 65°C.
“We are very excited about the opportunities that this sensor opens up for designers to further advance their products,” says Jeanne Forget, vice president global marketing at Bosch Sensortec, in a statement. “Our product is unmatched in its scope, precision and footprint, and provides an improvement for outdoor localization, thereby reducing our reliance on GPS signals”.
Availability: The sensor will be available to select customers with the start of channel promotion in Q2 2017.
Pricing: N/A
Bosch is exhibiting at CES 2017 in the Central Hall, booth #14128, Las Vegas.
