Smart IMU focused on wearables applications

Targeted to wearables, hearables, and augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) applications, the BMI270 includes intuitive gesture, context, and activity recognition with an integrated plug-and-play step counter.

The IMU incorporates a 16-bit triaxial gyroscope and 16-bit triaxial accelerometer in two application-specific versions.

The “gesture” version, designed for Wear OS by Google, allows users to navigate the device using wrist gestures such as flick in/out, arm up/down, and wrist tilt.

The “context and activity” version has advanced features for recognising context activity and activity change such as standing, walking, and being in a vehicle.

A self-calibrating gyroscope uses Bosch’s motionless Component Re-Trimming (CRT) feature, which compensates for MEMS soldering drifts and saves OEMs time and costs during testing and manufacturing.

The device extends system battery life by handling multiple activity tracking, step counting, and gesture recognition functions independently of the main system processor, without having to wake it up.

These processor-independent functions include tasks such as sending an interrupt when a certain number of steps is reached, or geofencing to activate GPS when the user stands and begins walking.

Through the device’s intelligent power management system, powerful and accurate gesture and activity recognition features run in the ultra-low-power domain, with a current consumption of just 30μA.

The 2.5mm × 3.0mm × 0.8mm BMI270 is pin-to-pin compatible with Bosch’s BMI160, BMI260, BMI261, and BMI263 IMUs, simplifying drop-in replacement in existing designs.