Alpha Semiconductor releases a dual sensor for activity tracking/bone conduction, saving space and power for earphones and headphones

Longer battery life and excellent audio quality, the preferred sensor for TWS earphones and AR/VR/MR earphones

The Italian semiconductor LSM6DSV16BX is a unique, highly integrated sensor that can save significant space for sports earplugs and general-purpose earphones. The on-chip integrated 6-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) is used to track the head and detect human activity, while the audio accelerometer can detect speech with a frequency range exceeding 1 KHz through bone conduction technology.

          In addition, the LSM6DSV16BX also contains the Qvar of the Italian semiconductor ™ Charge change detection technology, which recognizes touch, slide, and other user interfaces to control gestures, is an ideal choice for products and devices such as True Wireless Stereo (TWS) earphones and augmented reality, virtual reality, and hybrid reality (AR/VR/MR) earphones.

          While the chip integration has reached an unprecedented level, the LSM6DSV16BX also brings good functionality to headphones. Low power sensor fusion (SFLP) technology is built into the chip, which is specifically designed for 3D audio head tracking by Italian Semiconductor. The new sensor also integrates the edge processing capabilities of the highlight technology of the third generation MEMS sensors, including a finite state machine (FSM) for gesture recognition, a machine learning core (MLC) for activity recognition and speech detection, and an adaptive self configuration (ASC) that automatically optimizes performance and energy efficiency. These technical features help reduce system latency while reducing overall power consumption and host processor load.

         With higher integration and edge processing technology, system power consumption can be saved up to 70%, and PCB area can be saved up to 45%. In addition, the number of pins is reduced by 50%, thereby saving external components and packaging height is reduced by 14% compared to previous ST MEMS inertial sensors.

          LSM6DSV16BX has many software examples on the FSM and MLC model zoo of ST MEMS GitHub, including picking gesture detection for automatically opening certain device services, TWS earplug in and out ear detection, 3D earphone head posture detection, and so on. To save developers time and avoid starting from scratch, the X-CUBE-MEMS1 software package is pre integrated with application code examples.

         The LSM6DSV16BX is now in mass production and is packaged in a 2.5mm x 3.0mm x 0.74mm VFLGA package.