wearables News - Page 20 of 29 - CNX Software

July 6, 2016July 6, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Nordic Semiconductor nRF52832 Cortex-M4 ANT & Bluetooth LE SoC Gets Even Tinier

Nordic Semiconductor nRF52832 is a Bluetooth 4.2 LE SoC based on an ARM Cortex-M4F core that was first released about a year ago in a QFN48 package targeting IoT and Wearables. But if your application is really tight on space and the 6x6mm package is just too big, the company has just introduced a 3.0×3.2mm WL-CSP (Wafer Level Chip Scale Package ) package for nRF52832 decreasing the area to about one quarter of the QFN package The specifications are exactly the same as the QFN, but let’s see what we’ve got in that 9.6mm2 package: MCU Core – ARM Cortex-M4F @ 64 MHz with DSP & FPU, 512kB Flash and 64kB RAM 2.4 GHz radio for ANT, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, and Gazell connectivity; 5.5mA peak RX/TX currents; on-chip RF Balun On-chip NFC tag Peripherals – 3x Master/Slave SPI, 2x Two-wire interface (I²C), UART (RTS/CTS), 3x PWM, Digital microphone interface (PDM) Security […]

June 22, 2016August 28, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Espressif ESP8285 is just like ESP8266 but with 1MB built-in Flash, and Designed for Wearables

Espressif announced ESP8285 WiFi SoC was entering production last March. The new processor is based on ESP8266, but the company added 1MB built-in flash to make the solution smaller, and more suitable to wearables such as smartwatches and activity trackers. ESP8285 features a Tensilica L106 32-bit MCU and another ultra-low-power 16-bit RISC core, as well as 802.11 b/g/n/d/e/i/k/r WiFi connectivity. AI Thinker has already produced a tiny module based on the solution, called ESP-8285, and another person has developed an ESP8285 development board sold on Tindie for $24.95, and with some code sample (Arduino sketches) on Github. You’ll also find some more technical information on a Devacron blog post, or inside the datasheet on Espressif website. Via Hackaday Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)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 […]

June 6, 2016June 16, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Energympro EP-SH09 Bluetooth LE Fitness Tracker Features AMS AS7000 Biosensor

I wrote about AMS AS7000 biosensor designed for heart rate monitors last fall, and one of my regular reader noticed the sensor, made his company evaluate it, and since the results were pretty good, designed a product with it. And here I am with a sample of Energympro EP-SH09 fitness tracker with an OLED display, HRM based on AS7000 sensor, and IP67 ingress protection rating. Some of Energympro EP-SH09 technical specifications: MCU – Texas Instruments CC2640 ARM Cortex-M3 48 MHz Display – 0.86″ OLED display, 96×32 resolution Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 LE Input – Touch area at the bottom of the display Sensors – AMS AS7000 biosensor for HRM, motion sensors Battery – 45 mAh LiPo battery which looks good for 4 to 5 days. Dimensions – 40 x 18 x 12.9 mm Weight – 6 grams Ingress Protection Rating – IP67 The device can pair with smartphone using Smart […]

May 26, 2016May 26, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Shenzhen Alpha M009 Smartwatch is Powered by Mediatek MT2503 SoC with Integrated Bluetooth, GSM Modem, and GPS

Mediatek MT2502 “Aster” SoC for wearables and IoT was released in 2014 with an ARM7 MCU, built-in Bluetooth, PMIC, and GSM/GPRS modem, and support for external WiFi and GPS chips. The upcoming MT2503 integrates functionality even further as GPS is now embedded inside the SoC, and Shenzhen Alpha Telecom Technology demonstrated their M009 smartwatch based on the latest Mediatek SoC at CES Asia 2016 in Shanghai. M009 smartwatch specifications: SoC – Mediatek MT2503 ARM7 processor with GSM/GPRS modem, Bluetooth 3.0 + EDR 2.1, GPS (MT3333), PMIC Display – 1.22″ or 1.3″ 240×240 resolution TFT display Cellular Connectivity – SIM card Sensors – HRM, pressure sensor Misc – 2x buttons Dimensions – 36 x 32 x 11 mm There will be two version of the processor MT2503A and MT2503D with the former supporting external serial flash. If you’d like to integrate a ready to use module in your design, ATS Link provides […]

May 23, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

$49 STEVAL-WESU1 Wearable Sensor Unit Reference Design is Based on STMicro STM32 MCU

STMicroelectronics STEVEL-WESU1 is a wearable open source hardware reference design and development kit comprised of a board with STM32L1 ARM Cortex-M3 micro-controller, BlueNRG-MS Bluetooth LE chip, and sensors, a battery, and a watch band. STMicro “WESU” specifications and features: MCU – STMicro STM32L151VEY6 32-bit ARM Cortex-M3 MCU @ 32 KHz to 32 MHz, 512KB flash, 80 KB SRAM Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 LE via BlueNRG-MS BLE network processor Sensors – 3D accelerometer + 3D gyroscope (LSM6DS3), 3-axis magnetometer (LIS3MDL), MEMS pressure sensor (LPS25HB) USB – 1x micro USB port for recharging Debugging – SWD connector for debugging and programming capability Power 100 mAh Li-Ion battery included, UN38.3 tested and certified STNS01 Li-Ion linear battery charger STC3115 Fuel gauge IC Watch strap with plastic housing included Certifications – FCC (FCC ID: S9N-WESU1), IC (IC: 8976C-WESU1), RoHS The kit can be controlled by ST WeSU app for Android and iOS, and developed using BlueST […]

May 18, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Asu Cast One Android Smartwatch Features a Projector and Touch Panel

Smartwatches and wearables in general have to main implementations for the user interfaces, either using a display and physical button, or a touch screen display. Asu Cast 1 changed all that, as they removed the display, using a touch panel (no screen) combined with a projector, using your hand or other surfaces. Asu Cast One smartwatch projector specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (APQ8026) processor @ 1.2 GHz System Memory – 768 MB RAM Storage – 4GB flash Projector – 1280 x 600 resolution, 15 lumens brightness (equivalent to 100 lumens DLP projectors), “screen” size: 2″ to 60″. Touch panel – Multi-touch Connectivity – WiFi and Bluetooth Sensors – Gravity sensor and gyroscope Battery – 740 mAh battery Dimensions – 50 x 41 x 14.6 mm Weight – 65.9 grams The thing runs a heavily customized version of Android 5.1, and supports DLNA, Miracast and Airplay. The company did not disclose […]

May 10, 2016June 18, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

LX IoT Cores Are Made for IoT and Wearables with Bluetooth LE, ANT+, 2G/3G, Sigfox, LoRa, and More

LX Group, an Australian company specializing in electronics design and embedded systems, has introduced three wireless modules for IoT and wearables which they call “LX IoT Cores”, and embeds various wireless protocol such as Bluetooth LE/Ant+, 2G/3G connectivity, WiFi, Lora, Sigfox, Taggle, etc… Let’s go though the main technical specs for the three modules, one of which it itself modular (hence the max and min size) depending on your requirements. LX Cellular Core (Right) MCU – STMicro STM32F217IGH6 ARM Cortex-M3 MCU @ 120 MHz with 1MB flash, 128kB RAM Storage – 1x micro SD card reader Communication Interfaces Radios – 2G/3G, WiFi, BLE, ANT+, provision for LoRa, Taggle, SigFox, optional GPS via daughter board Wired – USB, RS485, UART, SPI, I2C, Digital IO, ADC Sensors – Ambient Luminosity, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, temperature, humidity, air pressure, microphone USB – 1x micro USB port Misc – Reset and 2x user buttons, 2x […]

May 7, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

SkinTrack Controls Your Smartwatch with Gestures on Your Skin or Clothes

A group of researchers of the Future Interface Group, Carnegie Mellon University in the US, has worked on SkinTrack technology which enables continuous touch tracking on the skin by using a ring emitting high frequency AC signal, and a sensing wristband with multiple electrodes. They’ve created sensor band and ring prototypes to demonstrate the technology. The ring includes an oscillator that generated a 80Mhz sine wave at 1.2Vpp. It consumes 7mA during operating meaning that they could get 15 hours out of the 100 mAh battery used in the prototype. The wristband features four pair of electrodes coupled with AD8302 RF/IF gain and phase comparator chips in order to derive X and Y coordinates from the phase of the signal. The sensing board produces eight analog values which are sampled by Atmel ATMega328 microcontroller’s 10-bit ADC inputs, and transmitted to the watch using a Nordic NRF8001 Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) […]