The BMA456 hearable accelerometer is the industry’s only accelerometer with optimised hearable features integrated in one sensor, according to Bosch. It also complements the existing BMA456 wearable variant.
The BMA456 accelerometer variant integrates hearable-specific gestures to accommodate for intuitive user interactions such as tap, double-tap and triple-tap. The user can, for example, conveniently control playback, manage the volume, or accept and decline calls.
All of these functions are carried out within the BMA456 itself, thus eliminating the need to wake up a power-hungry application processor. These features and its low height of 0.65 mm make the BMA456 suitable for Truly Wireless Stereo (TWS) headsets and midrange hearables used for entertainment and in everyday life.
To limit power consumption, the BMA456 accelerometer accurately distinguishes between motion and no-motion, switching itself and the device to a low-power mode. In addition, the sensor enables low-power in-ear and out-of-ear recognition that could, for example, instantly pause playback when the user removes the hearable from their ear and set the entire system to sleep mode.
The BMA456 also includes a low-power step counter and step detector that is specifically optimised for hearables. In combination with the activity recognition feature that detects walking, running and standing still, the BMA456 hearable variant is also suitable for sports and activity-tracking hearables that operate with smartphones or stand-alone.
Manufacturers can flexibly configure the default parameter sets of these features to improve the performance of their devices. The sensor’s low noise of 120 µg√Hz, low offset of ±20 mg and low TCO of 0.35 mg/K further improve the accuracy of the device.
