MEMS sensor nuggets wearable devices

Release date：2014-06-13   Views：2481

The rush of wearable devices also brings new gold mining opportunities to all links of the industry chain. MEMS sensors, which are at the core of technology in the upstream of the industry chain, also benefit from this. These sensing systems, originally used in automobiles, smartphones and tablets, are entering the field of wearable devices. MEMS sensors have high added value and are an important basis for human-computer interaction. They are considered as an important direction of wearable technology innovation and future development potential, and have also become the focus of manufacturers.

IHS iSuppli expects revenue from MEMS motion sensors in wearable electronics and health monitoring devices to rise 33% to $41.3 million in 2014. It will grow a further 47% to $60.8 million in 2015, with the biggest increase coming in 2016, when annual revenue will jump 50% to $91.5 million.

MEMS sensors in popular wearable devices

As wearable technology attracts more and more attention from users, many manufacturers at home and abroad have begun to set foot in the wearable field, such as Samsung, Fitbit, Jawbone, Huawei TalkBand band and 360 Children's Guard, etc. Apple, a bellwether of the mobile phone industry, is also actively developing its first wearable product, iWatch.

However on Apple iWatch is not yet listed, as another giant samsung mobile phone industry has scooped into wearable devices, after last year launched a Gear, this year the samsung Galaxy S5 listed at the same time introduced the wearable device with fitness track in the first paragraph of the Gear, the Fit for consumer brings another heavyweight wearable products. It tracks users' exercise, steps, heart rate and instant notifications, and synchronizes data with Samsung devices via Bluetooth to help users better understand and improve their health.

What sensors are used inside the Samsung Gear Fit? According to the disassembly report, Gear Fit USES two sensors, a six-axis gyroscope and accelerometer, and a heart rate sensor. Like the Samsung Galaxy S5, the InvenSence MPU6500 sensor is used for the 6-axis gyro and accelerometer components, which incorporate a 3-axis gyroscope and 3-axis accelerometer. InvenSence USES bulk silicon technology, MEMS chip and ASIC chip integrated in a 3.0×3.0×0.9mm package.

The MEMS Sensor chip of MPU6500 adopts InvenSense's Nasiri technology, which can be closely combined with the standard CMOS technology, and the bulk silicon technology is used to realize the main MEMS structure. The ASIC chip and MEMS chip are constructed with crystal grade aluminum and germanium.

When using the heart rate measurement function of Samsung Gear Fit, it only needs to put the bracelet on the hand to activate the monitoring function and keep it still for a few seconds to read the monitoring results. The function of the heart rate Sensor is realized not by using the same Maxim product as Galaxy S5, but by using Analog Deivce(Arnold). The package size of the chip is 5.0×2.8×1.1mm, and the chip contains two independent DIES, namely ASIC and Sensor.

Recent Revelations from suppliers of components for Apple's iWatch suggest at least six sensors. According to Taiwanese media sources, the iWatch will be released this year on the Q3, and Apple plans to sell 65 million iWatches in 2014. The iWatch will be equipped with at least six sensors, including the most commonly used g-sensor, acceleration sensor, heart rate sensor, blood pressure sensor, pulse sensor and so on. The blood glucose sensor has attracted the most attention. Since blood glucose is mostly achieved through minimally invasive methods at present, it is still unknown whether apple's first-generation iWatch can be applied to blood glucose. It is understood that Apple has been delaying the launch of the iWatch because most of its sensor algorithms still fall short of the company's expectations.

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