Suche

Press release #Smart Home
share

Making a splash: Bosch launches a robust barometric pressure sensor

Accurate sensor in compact gel package for wearables, consumer and industrial applications

  • Robust package design offers high level of protection against the ingression of water and other contaminants
  • Smallest package of any comparable barometric pressure sensor, making it easy to design into wearables and other portable products
  • Excellent performance, accuracy and reliability over the sensor's lifetime
Christian Hoenicke

Christian Hoenicke

X

Wearable fitness trackers are rapidly growing in popularity. A barometric pressure sensor enables the wearable to detect changes in the user’s elevation, for example when walking up or down stairs, for calculating the number of calories that the user is burning. Until now, many barometric pressure sensors have not been resistant against liquids and thus it has been challenging to integrate them into waterproof products. To address this issue, Bosch Sensortec developed the BMP384, a robust barometric pressure sensor delivering market-leading accuracy in a compact package.

Bosch has applied its many years of experience in creating reliable sensors for harsh environments into the design of the BMP384.

Dr. Stefan Finkbeiner, CEO at Bosch Sensortec

The high performance and low power consumption of the BMP384 makes it ideal for wearables, home appliances and industrial applications in harsh environments. The new sensor's innovative package design utilizes a special gel to protect it against the ingression of mainly water, but also to other liquids and dust in combination with the required integration concept. It is now straightforward for OEMs to integrate a barometric sensor into products requiring high robustness.

"Bosch has applied its many years of experience in creating reliable sensors for harsh environments into the design of the BMP384," says Dr. Stefan Finkbeiner, CEO at Bosch Sensortec. "Until now, engineers have faced significant challenges when designing barometric pressure sensors into applications involving water or other contaminants, frequently seeing performance degradation over the final product's lifetime. This new sensor makes design simpler and provides peace of mind."

The new BMP384 barometric pressure sensor is ideally suited for wearables like smartwatches and fitness trackers in activities like swimming and running. The special gel inside the package provides protection against common liquids such as salt water, rain, sweat and sunscreen. Its compact size of just 2.0 x 2.0 x 1mm3 enables seamless integration even into extremely small devices.

In addition to wearables, the sensor will be valuable in home appliances, for example water level detection in washing machines for ensuring accurate water volume measurement and flooding prevention. The BMP384 is very durable, making it ideal for dusty environments in use cases such as clog detection in vacuum cleaners.

Despite its ruggedness, the BMP384 does not compromise on performance. It provides a relative accuracy of +/- 9 Pa, an absolute accuracy of +/- 50 Pa, and a temperature coefficient offset (TCO) of +/- 1.0 Pa/K. Importantly, with a power consumption of just 3.4µA at 1Hz data rate (typical), the sensor will not drain the batteries of portable devices.

Availability:

The BMP384 is available now.

BOSCH SENSORTEC AT EMBEDDED WORLD DIGITAL:

VIRTUAL BOOTH: March 01 – March 05, 2021

DEEP-DIVE SESSIONS WITH BOSCH-EXPERTS:

  • March 1, 2021: 04:50-05:20 pm CET - Presentation and Q&A session 'Bosch unveils the new robust barometric pressure sensor BMP384 & the first gas sensor with Artificial Intelligence BME688'
  • March 5, 2021: 02:30-03:00 pm CET - Presentation and Q&A session ''Bosch introduces the self-learning AI sensor BHI260AP & the new robust barometric pressure sensor BMP384'

Contacts:

Constantin Schmauder
phone: +49 7121 35-31058
Twitter: @BoschMEMS
Christian Hoenicke
phone: +49 7121 35-35924

Bosch Sensortec GmbH, a fully owned subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH, develops and markets a wide portfolio of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors and solutions tailored for smartphones, tablets, wearables and hearables, AR/VR devices, drones, robots, smart home and IoT (Internet of Things) applications. The product portfolio includes 3-axis accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers, integrated 6- and 9-axis sensors, smart sensors, barometric pressure sensors, humidity sensors, gas sensors, optical microsystems and comprehensive software. Since its foundation in 2005, Bosch Sensortec has emerged as the MEMS technology leader in the markets it addresses. Bosch has been both a pioneer and a global market leader in the MEMS sensor segment since 1995 and has, to date, sold more than 10 billion MEMS sensors.

For more information, please visit www.bosch-sensortec.com, twitter.com/boschMEMS, community.bosch-sensortec.com, linkedin.com/company/bosch-sensortec/, youtube.com/user/BoschSensortec

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 429,000 associates worldwide (as of December 31, 2023). The company generated sales of 91.6 billion euros in 2023. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. With its business activities, the company aims to use technology to help shape universal trends such as automation, electrification, digitalization, connectivity, and an orientation to sustainability. In this context, Bosch’s broad diversification across regions and industries strengthens its innovativeness and robustness. Bosch uses its proven expertise in sensor technology, software, and services to offer customers cross-domain solutions from a single source. It also applies its expertise in connectivity and artificial intelligence in order to develop and manufacture user-friendly, sustainable products. With technology that is “Invented for life,” Bosch wants to help improve quality of life and conserve natural resources. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 470 subsidiary and regional companies in over 60 countries. Including sales and service partners, Bosch’s global manufacturing, engineering, and sales network covers nearly every country in the world. Bosch’s innovative strength is key to the company’s further development. At 136 locations across the globe, Bosch employs some 90,000 associates in research and development, of which nearly 48,000 are software engineers.

Additional information is available online at www.bosch.com, www.iot.bosch.com, www.bosch-press.com.

download