Big data is coming, and the sensor hub is expected to have a bright future

Smartphones, tablets, PCs, wearables, printers, cameras, and many other applications are using MEMS technology and sensor products. There will be a lot of data in the future! People are interested in tracking everything about themselves, and smartphones seem to be the most logical "hub" to collect and receive this data, including fitness data (various activities throughout the day, sleep cycles, heart rate, etc.), indoor mapping (away from mobile phone signals, or in a metal building, what floor you are on, etc.), contextual knowledge (if you are walking, riding in a car, train, etc.) and more. All this information is collected by sensors, but if there is no intelligent way to combine it, it doesn't really mean much. And this is the value of the sensor hub, which can realize the intelligent integration of massive data and extract valuable information from it. With the continuous increase of massive information data, the demand for sensor hubs may explode.

　　
Patrick Hanley, Product Marketing Manager, Atmel Touch Technology

　　Implementing inertia, light, and a host of other sensing options through a sensor hub can extend the battery life of mobile devices while increasing the number of tasks that can be handled and the accuracy with which they can be handled (leveraging existing motion and sensing applications). Patrick Hanley, product marketing manager for touch technology at Atmel, said that Atmel does not sell many MEMS products (except for temperature sensors). Even so, Atmel works with many MEMS suppliers and sensor fusion experts to design sensor hubs with our industry-leading microcontrollers. The sensor hub allows customers to achieve the lowest power and highest performance (highest accuracy and fastest response), making the solution more perfect for inertia and other contextual interactions with customers' mobile devices.

　　Atmel uses microcontrollers to design sensor hubs, and uses maXFusion technology to combine data from multiple sensors (such as environmental fiber optic sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers) to provide accurate, real-time data and information related to movement. Patrick Hanley emphasized that each customer has a different testing process based on the operating system they use. Before approving production, they also evaluate the touch screen or sensor hub, which usually includes verifying power values, accuracy, response rate, linearity, and many other comparative data points.

　　Atmel has multiple evaluation methods. For Windows 8 devices, Microsoft has a certification process called Windows Hardware Certification Kit, and customers must meet this certification before they can sell Windows 8 devices. For Android or other operating systems, there is no standard evaluation. Through advanced testing and certification, this allows the microcontroller equipped with a sensor hub to function more perfectly, and also brings more secure and valuable data information to customers, and is a useful supplement to the controller to achieve advanced touch functions.

　　Internal research and customer prototype building and testing have confirmed that Atmel's sensor hub products consume half the power of other sensor hub suppliers, and the current consumption is even lower than managing sensors on application processors; compared with the closest competitor, the performance (dynamic accuracy) is three times improved through enhanced integrated algorithms, which will significantly improve the user experience of games, navigation and virtual reality applications; by integrating both touch and sensor hub functions in a single device, the design complexity is reduced, which is a first in the industry.

　　Patrick Hanley revealed that due to the successful customer support and innovative user interface technology, Atmel has been able to provide sensor hub products to existing customers through cooperation with many touch screen manufacturers, and has been recognized and achieved good results. As competing manufacturers continue to improve the functionality of their product solutions, Atmel is optimistic about the future development of sensor hubs. Now it is expanding through sensor hub solutions to enable intelligent integration of massive data from multiple sensors, extract more useful information for consumers, and allow them to interact with their devices through touch, motion, sound, light, and many other sensing experiences.

　　Although Atmel's sensor hub has its own advantages, the author believes that sensor fusion is the general trend. The sensor hubs of other competing manufacturers can achieve the fusion of more types of sensor combinations, such as STMicroelectronics' motion sensor hub that integrates accelerometers, gyroscopes and electronic compasses in one package; the environmental sensor hub that integrates pressure sensors, temperature sensors and humidity sensors in one package; the sound sensor hub that integrates microphone arrays and headset microphones in one package. Product diversity is also an indispensable part of occupying a larger market share. Sensor hubs with different combinations will be one of the development trends and a good strategy for integrating different massive data.

　　About Patrick Hanley

　　Patrick Hanley joined Atmel in August 2010 as a product marketing manager for the Touch Technology team focusing on marketing QTouch products, and now he is focusing on marketing maXTouch products specifically for large-size projected capacitive touch screens. Hanley's responsibilities include defining new products, pricing, sales-related materials, and many other aspects of the success of the maXTouch product line in Atmel's Touch Technology Business Unit. Prior to joining Atmel, Hanley held various positions at Cypress Semiconductor in three divisions: Data Communications, Consumer & Computing, and Memory & Imaging. His positions included product marketing engineer, business operations, and pricing. Hanley holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, with a minor in Business Administration.

This article is reproduced from the July issue of "Sensor Technology Special Issue" of Electronics Enthusiasts Network