3-axis accelerometer with embedded MCU

Analogue, Mixed Signal, LSI

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6 March 2013 Analogue, Mixed Signal, LSI

STMicroelectronics announced details of a miniature smart sensor that combines a 3-axis accelerometer with an embedded microcontroller in an ultra-compact 3 x 3 x 1 mm LGA package for advanced custom motion-recognition capabilities.

ST has combined the microcontroller, operating as a sensor hub that runs sensor-fusion algorithms, and a high-precision 3-axis digital accelerometer into a single package it calls iNEMO-A. The device reduces the demand on the host controller and application processor and decreases power consumption in portable devices.

Both benefits deliver greater freedom and flexibility to the design of motion-enabled consumer electronics. The integration of high-resolution linear motion sensing and the sensor hub in a single package increases system robustness and is ideally suited for board-layout optimisation.

The LIS331EB iNEMO-A smart sensor targets a wide range of applications that include wearable sensor applications, motion-activated user interfaces in phones and tablets, and augmented reality.

The device embeds an ultra-low-power ARM Cortex-M0 with functional capability, power consumption and memory size that are ideally suited to sensor-hub applications and iNEMO sensor fusion on mobile applications. The sensor hub supports the connection of a 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis magnetometer and a pressure sensor to deliver a full sensor-fusion solution. Additional sensors, such as temperature and humidity sensors, may also be connected.

Addressing power constraints in battery-operated portable devices, the device also contains two embedded finite state machines (FSM) and an embedded FIFO (first-in first-out) memory.

These enable custom motion-recognition detection, including specific gesture detection, and a pedometer that can run without using the embedded microcontroller, further reducing the overall power consumption. The FSM can also be used to wake up the microcontroller, enabling advanced power management techniques.

The 3-axis accelerometer in the LIS331EB iNEMO-A features a selectable full-scale range of ±2 G/±4 G/±8 G/±16 G and its ARM Cortex-M0 core has 64 KB of Flash memory and 128 KB of RAM, as well as multiple timers and I/O ports (GPIOs/SPI/I²C/UART).

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Analogue, Mixed Signal, LSI

3-axis accelerometer with embedded MCU

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