Bosch Launches World’s Smallest MEMS Accelerometers for Wearables and Hearables

Meeting the market momentum for hearables that combine bone conduction, Bosch Sensortec has announced the new BMA530 and BMA580 MEMS accelerometers, currently the world’s smallest devices of this type, with just 1.2 x 0.8 x 0.55mm³. This is also an easy-to-integrate variant with voice activity detection, saving power and extending battery life, while allowing advanced audio processing features.

2021 was an exceptional year for MEMS companies, says YOLE Group, the international market analysis firm, which has just released its latest MEMS market report. The MEMS industry is expected to exceed the $22 billion mark five years from now, growing annually at about 9% between 2021 and 2027, the firm predicts. Interesting findings in the report indicated that Bosch continues to be the overall MEMS leader, while STMicroelectronics and TDK sales grew significantly in 2021.

Bosch Sensortec announced the acquisition of Arioso Systems, the Fraunhofer IPMS spin-off company that developed its own innovative sound transducer principle for miniaturized MEMS microspeakers based on the patented Nanoscopic Electrostatic Drive (NED) principle. With this acquisition Bosch expands from MEMS microphones to the attractive market segment of silicon microspeakers, soon to be at the core of new generation true wireless hearables.

In this article I share my early impressions of The MEMS Microphone Book by Mikko Suvanto. 21 years in the making, this is a reference book with over 600 pages and I decided that I should write about it here ASAP, because I believe that the work deserves attention and I'm confident enough on the quality of the content to recommend it. The MEMS Microphone Book, "A practical guide to reliable high-quality sound capturing with miniature microphones" (ISBN 978-952-94-5660-4) is available and my article details what it contains and who should read it.

In the wake of the acquisition of the Hillcrest Laboratories (Hillcrest Labs) business from InterDigital in mid-2019, CEVA now introduced the Hillcrest Labs MotionEngine Hear, a sensor and processor agnostic embedded software solution for hearable devices. The new solution allows SoC vendors, OEMs and ODMs to take advantage of a configurable sensor fusion platform to add intuitive user interface, gesture control, activity tracking and spatial audio capabilities to hearable devices.

During the Sensors Expo (June 27-28) in San Jose, California, Bosch Sensortec announced the BHI260 and BHA260, the first two members of a new generation of smart sensor hubs. These new devices are optimized for 24/7, always-on sensor processing and feature ultra-low power consumption, and a high performance co-processor, ideal for the development of new wearables, hearables, AR/VR and other mobile devices and battery-operated devices.