We now have many wearables capable of monitoring your activities, be it smartwatches or fitness tracker, and usually they are comprised of several small sensor chips, a low power micro-controller, a Bluetooth radio, and possibly some other ICs . Samsung has been designing and just launched a bio-processor to regroup most of those features into a single chip which should only require a fourth of the area required by current multi-chip solutions.
While the press release did not mention the part number, the included picture – shown above – sort of gave a clue, and Samsung S3FBP5A bio-processor has the following specifications:
- MCU – ARM Cortex-M4
- Memory – 256 KB RAM
- Storage – 512 KB flash
- DSP
- Sensors – 5 Analog frontends (AFEs) measuring:
- PPG (photoplethysmography)
- ECG (electrocardiography)
- Skin temperature
- BIA (bioelectrical impedance analysis)
- Galvanic skin response (GSR)
- I/Os – SPI, I2C
- PMIC
- Security units
The sensors will enable measurements of body fat, skeletal muscle mass, heart rate, heart rhythm, skin temperature and stress level in a single chip. The company also mentioned several wearable reference platforms are now available including wrist band, board and patch type reference devices, but did not provide any details.
Samsung S3FBP5A Bio-Processor is currently in mass production, and should be found in devices in H1 2016. You can visit Samsung S3FBP5A bio-processor page for not that many extra details.
Via Liliputing.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
Support CNX Software! Donate via cryptocurrencies, become a Patron on Patreon, or purchase goods on Amazon or Aliexpress
