Dialog Semiconductor plc , a provider of highly integrated power management, AC/DC power conversion, solid state lighting (SSL) and Bluetooth® Smart technology, announced its latest design win in a consumer wearable device.
The Misfit Shine 2 fitness and sleep monitor uses the Dialog DA14581 SmartBond™ Bluetooth Smart System-on-Chip (SoC) to connect to smartphones and other Bluetooth-enabled devices. Misfit merged with Fossil Group, a global design, marketing, and distribution company specialising in consumer lifestyle and fashion accessories, in December 2015.
Shine 2 is a powerful new wearable device in Misfit’s fitness tracking offering. It has an elegant, slim profile and includes new features, functions and capabilities without sacrificing the market-leading 6-month battery life of its predecessor. A tiny coin cell battery powers the device. Shine 2 accurately tracks fitness activity and sleep patterns. It has a built-in accelerometer complemented by a newly-added 3-axis magnetometer.
The tracker displays progress and time using a multitude of rainbow-colored lights and motivates users with Misfit Move, a feature that encourages them to be active with a vibrational nudge. A prominent feature of Shine 2 is call and text notifications in the form of vibration and unique light patterns. Compared with the original version, the new tracker offers improved touch responsiveness using capacitive sensing, as well faster syncing and extended Bluetooth range.
“Consumers are demanding wearables that not only function well but look good too. Once again, Dialog is the enabling technology for design innovation in a leading consumer device,” said Sean McGrath, senior vice president and general manager, Connectivity, Automobile & Industrial Business Group for Dialog Semiconductor, “We are proud to partner with Misfit in providing low power Bluetooth connectivity for next-generation wearables where elegance, beauty and long-lasting operation are key drivers of consumer demand.”
Dialog’s Wearable-on-Chip™ Bluetooth Smart SoC technology is designed to minimise time to market and reduce the size and costs of wearable computing devices while maximising battery life. According to analyst IHS, the market for wearables will be worth $32 billion by 20191 when 230 million of them will be sold.
About the DA14581 Bluetooth Smart SoC
Wearables manufacturers are increasingly leveraging very energy efficient solutions like Dialog’s SmartBond™ DA14581 to increase the consumer appeal of their products. The DA14581 is a leading Bluetooth Smart SoC offering ultra-low power and minimal system size. It is a highly integrated device that combines a Bluetooth Smart radio with an ARM® Cortex®-M0 application processor and intelligent power management.
The device’s firmware has been optimised for use as an HCI device and for wireless charging applications. 32 GPIOs give access to processor resources. The SoC measures 2.5 mm x 2.5 mm and requires only five external components to create a low power solution.
SmartBond development kits for the DA14581 SoC to accelerate the design of wearables and can be ordered via Digikey and Mouser.
Dialog will be demonstrating its latest Bluetooth® Smart technology at Bluetooth World, March 15-16, 2016 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Comment on this article below or via Twitter: @IoTNow_ OR @jcIoTnow
