Freescale introduces first magnetometer in Xtrinsic sensor range
Freescale Semiconductor has expanded its Xtrinsic line of intelligent sensing solutions with the addition of the MAG3110, the company's first magnetometer. The new three axis device has been designed to provide directional heading accuracy for location based services such as navigation, dead reckoning and location tracking in Smartphones and other mobile devices.
"The Xtrinsic MAG3110 provides end device manufacturers with advanced, affordable navigational technology required to make their devices and applications innovative, yet affordable," said Demetre Kondylis, Freescale's vice president.
The device includes a magnetic field sensing element and an interface integrated circuit to provide signal conditioning, communication and embedded functionality. Magnetic field data is readily passed to the system's computational engine via a I2C interface. Features include an interrupt signal that indicates when a new set of measured magnetic field strength data is available in order to simplify data synchronisation. This functionality is also said to improve the power efficiency of smart mobile devices and ultimately improve the battery life.
