SENSOR

Nader Sadrzadeh
CEO of Kionix

FUSION
INNOVATIONS
FROM KIONIX

Navigate Emerging Markets

Smart Sensing with

Connectivity Solutions

Projected Capacitance
Touchscreens Dominate
Consumer Electronics Market

SENSOR TECHNOLOGY

4
12

CONTENTS

TECH ARTICLE

Projected Capacitance Touchscreens

The primary value proposition
of resistive touchscreens
is that they are low cost to
manufacture. Although
resistive touch performance is

COVER INTERVIEW
usually limited to basic single

finger touches and gestures, it

serves a wide user
base.of
NaderstillSadrzadeh,
CEO

RESISTIVE TOUCHSCREENS

SENSOR FUSION
INNOVATIONS
FROMKIONIX

Navigate Emerging Markets

Interview with Nader Sadrzadeh CEO of Kionix

Join Today

eeweb.com/register

18

ionix is a global microelectromechanical

systems (MEMS) inertial sensor manufacturer
based in Ithaca, New York. Kionix offers
high-performance, low-power accelerometers,
gyroscopes, and 6-axis combination sensors plus
comprehensive software libraries that support
a full range of sensor combinations, operating
systems and hardware platforms. Leading
consumer, automotive, health and fitness, and
industrial companies worldwide use Kionix sensors
and total system solutions to enable motion-based
functionality in their products.

A major difference between resistive and

projected capacitance touch technology is

Kionix
touchscreen composition, which significantly

impacts technical functionality and cost. The

high transparency and high resistivity properties
of indium-tin oxide (ITO) actually were first
realized and taken advantage of by resistive
touch technology. Resistive touchscreens are
constructed of two layers of polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) with ITO coated on each
layer. The two layers of PET are separated by
an air gap and spacer dots. The bottom PET
layer is placed on top of an insulating substrate
usually made of glass. A protective layer of hard
coating is placed on top of the other PET layer.
When a finger presses onto the touchscreen,
the action causes the top and bottom KX23H
ITO layers
Accelerome
to physically come in contact, which signifies
a
Low power
: 1A
finger touchdown. Resistive touchscreens 2A@3.1Hz;
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Smart Sensing with Connectivity Solutions

Kionix CEO:
Nader Sadrzadeh Sensing a new future.

22

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT

26

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT

Smart Sensor Hub from Kionix

MagGyro from Kionix Balances

Performance with Cost

SENSOR TECHNOLOGY

Projected Capacitance

TOUCHSCREENS

Dominating the Consumer

Electronics Market

TECH ARTICLE

ouch-enabled devices are now an integral part of our lives,

with touch rapidly becoming the user interface of choice. Most
touchscreens use either resistive or projected capacitance
touch technology. Resistive touchscreens, which allow both finger
and non-finger input (e.g., glove, stylus) are used in low-cost
smartphones, feature phones, global positioning systems (GPS),
printers, and some larger displays. Resistive touchscreens generally
support single-finger touch and basic gestures and are cheaper to
produce. On the other hand, projected capacitance touchscreens,
having superior multi-touch performance, durability, and optical
clarity, are usually adopted into high-end smartphones and tablets.
Going forward however, projected capacitance is now displacing
resistive touch in most small and medium-sized touchscreen devices
as well. Moreover, increasing innovation in projected capacitance
touch has allowed it to be competitive in price and surpass resistive
touch in performance.

By Chitiz Mathema and Christiana Wu

Cypress Semiconductor Corporation

SENSOR TECHNOLOGY

TECH ARTICLE

Top ITO Layer physically comes in

contact with bottom ITO layer on
finger press

The primary value proposition

of resistive touchscreens
is that they are low cost to
manufacture. Although
resistive touch performance is
usually limited to basic single
finger touches and gestures, it
still serves a wide user base.

Hard Coat
PET Layer
ITO
Airgap
ITO
PET Layer
Glass substrate
Spacer Dots

Resistive touchscreen stack-up

RESISTIVE TOUCHSCREENS
A major difference between resistive and
projected capacitance touch technology is
touchscreen composition, which significantly
impacts technical functionality and cost. The
high transparency and high resistivity properties
of indium-tin oxide (ITO) actually were first
realized and taken advantage of by resistive
touch technology. Resistive touchscreens are
constructed of two layers of polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) with ITO coated on each
layer. The two layers of PET are separated by
an air gap and spacer dots. The bottom PET
layer is placed on top of an insulating substrate
usually made of glass. A protective layer of hard
coating is placed on top of the other PET layer.
When a finger presses onto the touchscreen,
the action causes the top and bottom ITO layers
to physically come in contact, which signifies a
finger touchdown. Resistive touchscreens are
available in 4, 5, 6, and 8-wire variants, which
offer different degrees of durability and noise
suppression.

The primary value proposition of resistive

touchscreens is that they are low cost to
manufacture. Although resistive touch
performance is usually limited to basic single
finger touches and gestures, it still serves a
wide user base. Resistive touchscreens can be
found in automotive, medical, and industrial
equipment, and of course, point-of-sale (POS)
terminals. Resistive touchscreens also continue to
dominate applications that require touchscreens
greater than 10 inches, since costs for projected
capacitance technologies rise exponentially with
screen size. Furthermore, some original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs) continue to employ
resistive touchscreens in low-end smartphones,
feature phones, GPS, digital still cameras, and
printers with the aim to keep costs low in markets
where price competition is severe.
Despite the widespread use of resistive
touchscreens, there are considerable drawbacks,
allowing other touch technologies the chance
to establish a presence and expand market
share. Users consistently encounter frustration
with resistive touchscreens that inaccurately
report button activation on a different part

of the touchscreen or not activating presses

as intended. Since, resistive touchscreens
depend on pressure-activated touch, it requires
movement and flexing of the different layers in
its stack-up. Moreover, the top hardcoat layer
needs to be thin enough to maintain flexibility
of the touchscreen panel. The combination
of moving layers and a thin protective layer
leads to reduced durability and a vulnerability
to scratches. Resistive touchscreens also suffer
from lower optical transmissivity (< 80%). The
construction of resistive touchscreens with two
layers of PET, an air gap, and spacer dots can
render a loss of refractive and reflective light,
thereby yielding a more shaded display. Another
negative attribute is that resistive touchscreens
suffer from aging, which starts to occur when PET
breaks down at high temperature. Signs of aging
include touchscreen discoloration, where the
touchscreen starts to turn white in color. Resistive
touchscreens also have the disadvantage of
requiring calibration. Calibration is needed to
compensate for ITO sheet resistance drift on PET.

SENSOR TECHNOLOGY

2 Layer

TECH ARTICLE
2 Layer

1 Layer

1 Layer

COVER LENS

COVER LENS

OCA

OCA

PET

Insulator

OCA

GLASS

PET

COVER LENS

OCA
ITO

ITO

MH3

ITO

Diamonds

Bridge
PET

LCS

COVER LENS

ITO

ITO

SLIM

Projected capacitance touchscreen stack-ups

PROJECTED CAPACITANCE
TOUCHSCREENS
In contrast, projected capacitance technology
does not have the shortcomings of resistive
touchscreens; this has enabled it to dislodge
resistive touchscreens in many high-end and
high-volume applications. Projected capacitance
touchscreens are high performance in accuracy,
power consumption, and refresh rate. They
also feature excellent optical transmissivity (>
90%), meaning brighter and clearer displays.
Furthermore, projected capacitance supports
multi-finger touch input and gestures, thereby
allowing significant improvements to the user
interface. Popular gestures such as two-finger
pinch and zoom let users zoom in or out on
an image. Additionally, multi-touch lets OEMs
develop custom gestures, which add value for
the end user and can be promoted as product
differentiators. Unlike resistive touchscreens,
projected capacitance is durable, scratchresistant, free of aging symptoms, and needs no
calibration.
Projected capacitance does not use pressure for
touch detection and can detect even the lightest
of touches. Rather, projected capacitance reads
finger touches based on the differential change
in capacitance when a finger is placed on the

touchscreen. Without pressure-based sensing,

this means that a bendable protective cover
is no longer required. Thicker plastic or a glass
cover lens that is strong and scratch resistant
can be deployed for projected capacitance
touchscreens. Contrary to resistive touchscreens,
projected capacitance touchscreens can use
glass or PET substrates and can be single or duallayered. Figure 2 shows several stack-up options
for projected capacitance touchscreens. Note
that a single-layer sensor with ITO deposited on
a glass substrate will greatly enhance the optical
clarity of the touchscreen.
Because of the attractive properties of projected
capacitance touchscreens, an increasing number
of consumers are demanding devices that use this
technology. In order to support high-end devices
as well as medium and lower-end devices, touch
panel and touch controller suppliers must be
innovative in cutting cost while still supporting full
feature sets. Projected capacitance touchscreen
costs can be reduced by a number of design
choices. Some high-impact choices are to use PET
over glass substrates, polymethyl methacrylate
(PMMA) instead of glass for the cover lens
material, and fewer layers for the sensor stack-up.
The single-layer low-cost sensor (LCS) by Cypress
is an example of a projected capacitance
solution that is cost competitive with resistive
touchscreens. Such single-layer touchscreen

solutions have enticed cost-sensitive OEMs in

making the switch from resistive touchscreens
to projected capacitance. Currently,
projected capacitance is taking over from
resistive touchscreens as the solution of
choice in the consumer electronics market.
Touchscreen controller suppliers like Cypress
have also made significant advances in
technology to now support passive stylus and
glove with projected capacitance. Several
years ago, such non-finger input support could
only be provided by resistive touchscreens.
Looking forward, further innovation in
projected capacitance for novel features such
as hoverdetection of a finger hovering some
distance above the touchscreenopens up
possibilities to even more revolutionary and
enriching user experiences.

Projected capacitance
does not use pressure for
touch detection and can
detect even the lightest of
touches. Rather, projected
capacitance reads finger
touches based on the
differential change in
capacitance when a finger is
placed on the touchscreen.

SENSOR TECHNOLOGY

TECH ARTICLE

Chitiz Mathema is a product manager

in the User Interface Business Unit
at Cypress Semiconductor Corp.,
where he is responsible for product
marketing of the TrueTouch
touchscreen solution and CapSense
touch-sensing solution. He has five
years of experience in design, project
management and product marketing.
He holds a bachelors degree in
ECE from the National Institute of
Technology, Warangal, in India and an
MSEE from Mississippi State University.

Resistive touchscreens continue to be the chosen

solution in select cost-sensitive applications that
require large touchscreens. They are also still
prevalent in point-of-sale terminals, industrial,
automotive, and medical applications. However,
projected capacitance is now the dominant
touchscreen technology in the market. Projected
capacitance technology has replaced
resistive touchscreens in high volume consumer
electronics applications such as mobile phones,
tablets, GPS, digital still cameras, and MP3 players
by innovating to reduce solution costs as well as
enhance features to make for more intuitive yet
novel and exciting user interface options.

10

Christiana Wu is a Product Marketing

Engineer for TrueTouch touchscreen
solutions at Cypress Semiconductor
Corp. She holds dual BS Degrees in
Electrical Engineering and HumanCentered Design & Engineering
from the University of Washington.
She can be contacted at
christiana.wu@cypress.com.

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11

COVER INTERVIEW

SENSOR TECHNOLOGY

SENSOR FUSION
INNOVATIONS
FROMKIONIX

Navigate Emerging Markets

Interview with Nader Sadrzadeh CEO of Kionix

ionix is a global microelectromechanical

systems (MEMS) inertial sensor manufacturer
based in Ithaca, New York. Kionix offers
high-performance, low-power accelerometers,
gyroscopes, and 6-axis combination sensors plus
comprehensive software libraries that support
a full range of sensor combinations, operating
systems and hardware platforms. Leading
consumer, automotive, health and fitness, and
industrial companies worldwide use Kionix sensors
and total system solutions to enable motion-based
functionality in their products.

Kionix CEO:
Nader Sadrzadeh Sensing a new future.

12

13

COVER INTERVIEW

SENSOR TECHNOLOGY

Could you give us an overview of your

MEMS inertial sensors?
Kionix has traditionally been a developer and
manufacturer of 3-axis accelerometers. Our
high-performance, low power accelerometers
were an early adoption in the consumer market.
It was in fact the high rate of demand for
accelerometers in the consumer market that
helped fuel our companys growth. Then as the
sensor content in consumer electronics and
other focused markets became more diversified,
Kionix expanded its product portfolio to offer
new sensors and integrated solutions.
We strive as a company, not only to develop
and continually improve what we consider to
be the best discrete accelerometers, but we
are continuously trying to offer our customers

innovative solutions. While our customers have

taken a discrete accelerometer, a magnetometer,
and a gyro and used these three devices together
to create sensor fusion, Kionix developed the
KMX61G that replaces all three discrete products
with an integrated solution that yields 9-axis
equivalent output at lower cost and less power
consumption. Beyond this, we have the soonto-be released next generation, the KMX62,
which will integrate our own higher performance
magnetometer, at even a lower cost.
Our KX23H is another example of trying to give
our customers more options. This product was
developed in collaboration our sister company,
LAPIS Semiconductor, and integrates the LAPIS
low-power MCU into a single package with our
accelerometer. This allows us to embed fusion
code and applications without relying on an

application processor. By embedding our own set

of pre-defined algorithms, were offering an outof-the box solution and trying to offload some
of the pressure from the customer to develop
software.

What industry do you see most relevant

for growth for your sensor fusion
products?
Kionix has conventionally been a consumerfocused company with applications consisting
of mobile, smartphones, gaming, tablets and
free-fall detection for laptop computers.
In terms of our integrated solutions, the
consumer market and more recently, wearable
devices, with applications such as health and
fitness, will continue to be the most significant
driver of growth.

Over the past few years, we have also started to

focus on the automotive and industrial markets
with applications such as navigation systems
and tilt and spin control for washing machines, to
name a few. Not only does this allow us to expand
as a company, but it also gives us diversification
and added stability to offset the ups and downs
and volatility of the consumer market.

In what ways are the automotive and

industrial products different from the
consumer side?
We look at them as completely different
products, especially when you consider
automotive. There are many factors to consider
when it comes to the product design and
packaging. We really had to start from the
ground upwe have our core sensor technology,

We strive as a company,
not only to develop and
continually improve what
we consider to be the best
discrete accelerometers,
but we are continuously
trying to offer our customers
innovative solutions.

14

15

COVER INTERVIEW

SENSOR TECHNOLOGY

Together with our parent company, ROHM, Kionix is

committed to drive our core sensing technology to
deliver products and support our customers in the
industrial and automotive markets.
but we had to look at everything as a whole
to produce what we define as an automotivegrade product. But beyond the product
differentiation, its a completely different
business mindset and strategy. Where-as the
consumer market is typically driven by relatively
short product life cycles and rapid product
progression, the automotive and industrial
markets constitute considerably longer
development and product life cycles, are capital
intensive and require long-term commitment.
Together with our parent company, ROHM,
Kionix is committed to drive our core sensing
technology to deliver products and support
our customers in the industrial and automotive
markets. Our focus to-date has been on nonsafety applications, and whether we expand to
safety applications is yet to be seen.

What is plasma micromachining?

Plasma micromachining is a name that Kionix
gave to its sensor process to differentiate it
from other technologies being used in the
marketplace. Over the last ten years, we have
significantly evolved this technology, but it still
forms the basis of how we manufacture our
accelerometer elements today. Its a unique
technology that allows us to create a unique
set of design IP and to tune our design to our
manufacturing processes. Similar to other
MEMS technologies, its a cost effective process
that allows us to efficiently produce mass
volumes. More recently, weve been diversifying
our MEMS process base using ROHMs larger

16

facilities and technologies. We have also

transferred the plasma micromachining process
to ROHM, and support dual manufacturing
capabilities from both Ithaca, NY and Japan, and
certainly intend to keep this process updated
and active.

How has the ROHM acquisition

affected Kionix?
ROHM acquired Kionix nearly 5 years ago, and
in-line with the companys general practice of
acquisitions, has supported Kionix to operate
as an independent entity. But not to say there is
any lack of support from our parent company.
Stemming on ROHMs core capabilities and
scale, Kionix has been able to leverage necessary
manufacturing and engineering resources, which
have contributed to the companies continued
growth. Since I joined Kionix last year, Ive been
driving to bridge the two companies closer
together, leveraging the best of what ROHM and
its subsidiaries have to offer to augment Kionix
engineering, manufacturing and operations. All
the while, maintaining the core of what Kionix
was founded upona start-up based on an
engineering culture with aim to build the very
best MEMS solutions with focus on performance
and quality. And although the Kionix is part of a
large global corporation today, we still operate
on these same start-up principles. We will always
continue to drive change, develop and innovate,
improve our operations and processes, but this
cultures core foundation is something we dont
intend on changing.

Kionix is known for its tag line: Sensing

the Future. How do you sense the
future of Kionix and the future of MEMS
in general?
The future is bright as the smartphone revolution
gives way to other transformative technology
trends such as wearables and the Internet of
Things. These trends are about embedding
intelligence and awareness in objects all around
us. Sensing is core to this. So Kionix, and MEMS
in general, are well situated to play a central
role in these innovations. Thats not to say it
will be easy. In fact, it will be a challenge for
some manufacturers as the one-size-fits-all
model for smartphones wont suffice in a world
where the products are much more diverse and
the requirements and constraints are much
more varied. Companies will need to learn to be
adaptable and have flexible solutions to support
a larger number of smaller volume customers.
But Kionix has always prided itself in listening
and attending to the customers needs. This has
served us well and will work to our advantage
as customers new to sensing will increasingly
rely on sensor vendors to work closely, and in
some cases, partner with them to deliver their
innovative solutions. Couple that with our unique
technologies, our strong engineering team and
the support of our ROHM parent organization, and
were very excited about the future.

17

SENSOR TECHNOLOGY

TECH ARTICLE

SMART SENSING

with Connectivity Solutions

By Salvatore Bonina, Fabio Beffumo,
System Lab - ST CENTRAL LABS, Industrial and Power Group (IPG)
STMicroelectronics, Catania, Italy

he first generation of smart sensors was initially

adopted for consumer use of gaming consoles
and for the first smartphones. Now, smart
sensing is pervasive in electronics applications for
navigation, industry, building automation, health care,
and medicine. Smart-sensor products represent the
interface between the real analog world and digital
electronics applications. To meet the markets demands,
STMicroelectronics offers a broad portfolio of products
for developing a complete smart-sensing system.

18

19

SENSOR TECHNOLOGY

Electronics products in all application are

becoming more intelligent. This is possible
thanks to the introduction of embedded smart
sensing, digital management, and connectivity
features in electronics systems. Sensors and
motion microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)
in particular are among the most promising
sectors of market growth in semiconductors in
the coming years.
TYPICAL SMART-SENSING PLATFORM
The smart-sensing platform in figure 1
represents a complete solution for advanced
smart-sensing applications. This diagram shows
five main blocks:
Motion MEMS: accelerometer, gyroscope,
magnetometer (LIS3MDL), digital
compasses and iNEMO 6-axis or 9-axis
inertial module (LSM6DS0, LSM9DS0)
Environmental Sensors: pressure
temperature & humidity sensors
System & Data Management: low-power
8-bit (STM8L) or 32-bit (STM32L0, STM32L1)
microcontrollers units (MCU)
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth low energy
(BLE), sub 1 GHz, Ethernet
User Interfaces: Touch screen, proximity,
touch key
This platform analysis shows that the motion
MEMS block offers a 9-degrees-of-freedom
motion-sensing stage composed of a 3-axis
digital gyroscope (L3GD20H) which measures
the angular rate with a maximum scale of
2000/s, a system-in-package digital compass
(LSM303C) module which features a 3-axis
digital linear acceleration sensor able to sense
the linear acceleration up to 8g, and a 3-axis
magnetometer with a magnetic range of 16 Gauss.
STs portfolio also includes the 3-axis digital

20

TECH ARTICLE

Very low-power RF transceiver for the sub

1 GHz band product (SPIRIT1) designed
for work at different frequency bands
supporting 2-FSK, GFSK, OOK, ASK, and MSK
STs product (STE100P) for fast Ethernet,
a 10/100 Mbps transceiver compliant with
IEEE802.3u 100Base-TX and IEEE802.3
10Base-T

Figure 1: Typical block diagram of a smart-sensing platform.

or analog accelerometers (LIS2DH12, LIS3DSH,

H3LIS331DL, LIS344ALH) in a single package with up
to 400g of measurement range.
Inside the environmental block, MEMS pressure
sensors represent the 10th degree of freedomin-motion recognition. In fact, with an absolute
range of 260 to 1260 mbar and a resolution of
0.020 mbar and LPS25H are able to measure
altitude and determine floor position in indoor
navigation. Pressure combined with analog or
digital temperature sensors (STTS751, STLM20) and
humidity sensors (HTS221) are key elements for
ambient monitoring.
The connectivity block offers four
alternative solutions:
A Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) controller
STBLC01 = NRND compliant with Bluetooth
4.0 specifications (BlueNRG), plus frequency
work of 2.45 GHz and transmission rates of
~200 kilobits
Wi-Fi module (SPWF01SA or SPWF01SC)
compliant to the IEEE 802.11 b/g/n standard
at frequency of 2.4 GHz with embedded:
STM32 ARM Cortex-M3, 1.5 MB or 512 kB of
Flash Memory and 64 kB of RAM memory

For the digital management of this platform, it is

possible to choose an 8-bit or 32-bit low-power
microcontroller (MCU). Low-power features
of MCUs, as well as for the overall system
components, are a fundamental characteristic
for portable consumer devices and also for
24-hour-monitoring systems with available
back-up batteries in case of grid blackout.
Touch-sensing products (touch screen, touch
key, proximity) and user interface represent an
intuitive input and output instrument able to
simplify setting changes in many applications,
including in-home displays.

INTEGRATED, EFFICIENT, INTELLIGENT

The products and solutions featured in this
article show that for an integrated, efficient, and
intelligent solution, the system architecture
needs to embed three key features: smart
sensing, digital management with realtime control, and advanced connectivity
solutions. With a dedicated portfolio and deep
systems know-how, STMicroelectronics is
the key supplier for a wide spectrum of smart
electronics applications.

Sensors and motion

MEMS in particular
are among the most
promising sectors
of market growth in
semiconductors in
the coming years.

21

SENSOR TECHNOLOGY

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT

Product Overview of the

Smart-Sensor
Hub from Kionix

The KX23H smart sensor hub from Kionix integrates

a 16-bit accelerometer and ARM Cortex-MO in a tiny
LGA package to simplify sensor integration and enable
more efficient designs. Because the Cortex-M0 is a full
multipoint control unit (MCU), certain applications will
be able to run wholly within the KX23H, making it not
just a sensor hub but the main application processor.
Kionix also includes a library of advanced motion
processing software.

22

23

SENSOR TECHNOLOGY

Key
Features
KX23H MCU Features:
ARM Cortex-M0 32MHz
128 kB Flash ROM
16 kB SRAM
Power consumption (MCU only): 2.5A
(sleep); 1.5mA @ 32kHz; 6mA @ 32MHz
I2C master port
I2C slave port
3 GPIO Interrupt capability

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT

KX23H Accelerometer Features:

Low power : 1A@ standby;
2A@3.1Hz; 146A@1.6KHz
2g, 4g, 8g full scale
Data Rate 0.781Hz to 1.6KHz
16-bit resolution
Low noise with FlexSet Performance
Optimizer
Embedded 256-byte FIFO/FILO buffer
Internal voltage regulator
Embedded wake-up function
Digital High-Pass Filter Outputs
Integrated Directional Tap/DoubleTap and device-orientation
algorithms
Excellent Temperature Performance
High Shock Survivability (10,000g)

Tech
Specifications

The accelerometer is based on Kionixs highest performance

design and features a selectable 2, 4, or 8g full-scale range,
embedded 256-byte first-in-first-out (FIFO) or first-in-lastout (FILO) buffer, and utilizes Kionixs FlexSet Performance
Optimizer to ensure low-noise operation. It includes an
embedded wake-up function, as well as algorithms to
detect device orientation and Directional Tap/Double-Tap.
The Cortex-M0 in the KX23H is a full-featured, lowpower microcontroller from LAPIS, one of Kionixs sister
companies within the ROHM group. The Cortex-M0 uses an
I2C slave interface to communicate with the host, and an
I2C master interface to communicate with the integrated
accelerometer as well as external sensors. 128KB of flash
and 16KB of SRAM allow sensor fusion and data analysis
algorithms to be run directly in the KX23H. The final data is
then buffered until the main application processor requests
it. This allows the sensor subsystem to be developed and
work independently of the application processor, simplifying
system design and verification while improving reliability.

To watch a video overview of the KX23H smart

sensor hub from Kionix, click the image below

Watch
Video

24

25

SENSOR TECHNOLOGY

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT

MagGyro
from Kionix

Balances Performance

with Cost

By: John Chong, Vice President of Product and Business Development, Kionix

26

his is definitely the age of the quantified self

in which people have a growing thirst to quantify
and track everything about their lives. Combine this
with the burgeoning Internet of Things (IoT), which strives
to embed intelligence in common, everyday devices and
share the information virtually everywhere, and it is evident
that society is entering a new age of technology driven by
the availability of inexpensive and ubiquitous computing
and connectivity. At the heart of this trend is data about
individuals and their surrounding world. The source of
this data is sensors, and so the logical extension is
a trend towards ubiquitous sensing.

27

SENSOR TECHNOLOGY

This is definitely the age of the quantified self

in which people have a growing thirst to quantify
and track everything about their lives. Combine
this with the burgeoning Internet of Things (IoT),
which strives to embed intelligence in common,
everyday devices and share the information
virtually everywhere, and it is evident that
society is entering a new age of technology
driven by the availability of inexpensive and
ubiquitous computing and connectivity. At the
heart of this trend is data about individuals and
their surrounding world. The source of this data
is sensors, and so the logical extension is a
trend towards ubiquitous sensing.
Sensors are following computing in that
technology advances are allowing sensors
to become smaller and more mobile. In
addition to the smartphone, newer quantified
self- devices are taking the form of health
and fitness monitors, headsets and helmets,
wearable electronics, and sports equipment.
Multiple market analysts have predicted a
significant increase in the monitoring device and
applications market. These devices enable the
user to measure dozens of parameters that
include movement, motion and form,
pedometry, cadence, swings, and gesture
recognition. IHS Electronics & Media has
forecasted that the performance-monitoring
market will reach $2.3 billion in 2017 and that,
cumulatively, over 250 million of these devices
will ship between 2012 and 2017.
Innovative microelectromechanical systems
(MEMS) inertial-sensor industry suppliers have
stepped up to meet growing consumer demand
for these devices. To support increasingly

28

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT

Sensor fusion
software intelligently
combines data from the
individual sensors for
the purpose of improving
application or system
performance.

intelligent and improved capabilities, a trio of

devices has been combined via intelligent sensor
fusion algorithms to provide the foundation
for motion and orientation awareness. These
devicesa 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis
magnetometer, and 3-axis gyroscopeare
united as a 9-axis inertial measurement unit
(IMU) that provides functions and features
such as screen orientation detection, gesture
recognition, interactive gaming, step counting,
personal navigation, and free fall detection.
But, inclusion of all three sensors in a new
device design presents challenges in terms of
increased power consumption, board space,
and costs. A new category of 6-axis sensors
that deliver 9-axis capabilities are emerging
as a valuable and enabling design option for
consumer electronics market original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs). These combination
products provide significant benefits to
consumer-electronics manufacturers by
reducing overall board space, cost and power
consumption, thus enabling manufacturers to
include motion sensors in a greater number and
variety of products.

Traditional gyros provide excellent performance

and important functionality, however, it is the
largest, most expensive and the most power
hungry of the three sensor types. This has limited
a gyros usage in many mobile products. Now,
6-axis sensors combined with smart- fusion
software have given product designers a low
power, reduced cost, and size alternative to
traditional gyros, which opens up new possibilities
for the inclusion of gyro-based functionality
in their products. This article will present the
advantages of integrating 6-axis solutions that
deliver the equivalent of 9-axis output while
cutting power consumption by as much as 90
percent. It will also illustrate that this solution,
using what has been termed as a magnetic
gyro (or MagGyro for short), is not only a good
alternative to traditional gyros, but can be used to
augment and calibrate traditional gyros.

Basics of 9-Axis Sensor Fusion

and the Magnetic Gyro
To accurately represent motion and orientation,
three different sensors are typically employed:
an accelerometer, a magnetometer, and a
gyroscope. An accelerometer measures linear
acceleration and orientation relative to gravity,
while a magnetometer is used to sense the
earths magnetic field and orient oneself
relative to the magnetic north. Rounding out the
sensors needed for motion and orientation are
gyroscopes that measure rotational speed to
detect changes in pitch, roll, and yaw.

Accelerometer +
Magnometer +
Gyroscope

Micro-Amp
Magnetic Gyro

Accelerometer +
Magnometer

Accelerometer

Figure 1: Fusing sensor data from a traditional 9-axis, 3-sensor solution enables a substantial increase in performance over
the individual sensors as each sensor compensates for what the other sensors lack. However, inclusion of the traditional
gyroscope causes the largest increase in cost, size, and power consumption. The MagGyro provides an option that balances
performance with a substantial decrease in cost, size, and power consumption.

29

SENSOR TECHNOLOGY
9-Axis Sensor Fusion
Motion and Orientation
Accelerometer

Measures linear acceleration

Orientation relative to gravity

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT
+Y
UP

-X
WEST

-Z
NORTH

Magnometer

Used as e-compass to orient relative to earth

Gyroscope

Used to measure rotational speed

Figure 2: Data from accelerometers, magnetometers,

and gyroscopes are combined to measure motion and
detect orientation.

Sensor fusion software intelligently combines

data from the individual sensors for the
purpose of improving application or system
performance. A good illustration of sensor
fusion is the MagGyro itself the 6-axis sensor
that in addition to giving acceleration and
magnetic field information, can output angular
velocity measurements. Since gravity is a
form of acceleration, an accelerometer can be
used to detect orientation relative to gravity
(up and down). A magnetometer coupled with
an accelerometer can form an e-compass to
determine orientation relative to magnetic north
(north, south, east, and west). Together, this
provides a devices orientation in 3D space. Since
angular velocity is just a change in orientation,
sensor fusion software can monitor orientation
and calculate angular velocity, hence emulating
what a physical gyro does. This would not be
possible off the earth, but for applications on the
earth, this can give the equivalent 9-axis output
that a traditional 3-sensor solution provides.
A 9-axis solution using a MagGyro is an excellent
addition to the system designers toolbox
because of what it enables the designer to

30

+Z
SOUTH

+X
EAST
-Y
DOWN

accomplish. The concept is not new, but achieving

a solution with the level of performance required
in todays applications has been challenging
for many sensor vendors. Thats because
the performance of this solution is highly
dependent on the quality of its components
the accelerometer, the magnetometer, and the
sensor fusion software must all be optimized to
create an effective magnetic gyro.
The most important properties of the
accelerometer and magnetometer are their noise
and stability. Since the sensor fusion software
uses these as the basis for calculations of angular
velocity, any errors in acceleration and magnetic
field will affect angular velocity accuracy.
In addition, the latency of the measurements
and the synchronization of the readings from
the accelerometer and magnetometer are
important. Any time delta between readings
can show up as errors in the gyro output and
is a key reason to pair the accelerometer and
magnetometer as a combination product.
Special consideration, too, must be given to
the software, since it performs many functions

that make the MagGyro viable. Intelligent

filtering of noise, identifying and mitigating
magnetic anomalies, and trading off accuracy
versus responsiveness are all aspects of
the implementation that are crucial to the
performance and the end users experience. In
addition, the software needs to be efficient both
in terms of code size and processor usage in
order to not squander the benefits provided by
the MagGyro.
The number one reason a physical gyro is not
used in many applications is power consumption.
Depending upon the specific comparison,
9-axis solutions with a MagGyro reduce power
consumption by a factor of five to ten. For
example, Kionixs MagGyro runs at 950A
(450A sensor + 500A software) compared to
a standalone physical gyro running at 5000A,
offering a 5x reduction in power. Furthermore,

since most systems with a physical gyro already

include an accelerometer and magnetometer,
comparing the power consumption of a 9-axis
solution using a physical gyro to that of one
using a MagGyro entails comparing the current
consumption of the physical gyro to the power
consumed by the MagGyro software (500A)
yielding a significant 10x reduction.

Algorithm & Sensor Requirements

ACCELEROMETER

Low Noise (150200g/Hz)

MAGNOMETER

Low Noise (0.2T RMS)

Response / Latency < 1ms

SOFTWARE

Intelligent Sensor Fusion

Calibration, Magnetic Anomaly Rejection
Filtering and Management of Noise and Non-Ideal Time Varying
Conditions
Proper tradeoff between accuracy and responsiveness
Optimization of code for minimal Memory and MIPS
requirements

Figure 3: The Kionix Magnetic Gyro solution offers considerable size savings, enabling OEMs to have full 9-axis outputs
in a 3x3x0.9 mm package, which constitutes a 45 percent reduction compared to other options. Kionixs KMX61G delivers
the worlds first highly accurate gyro emulation using as little as one-tenth the power of a traditional 9-axis solution.
This, combined with the KMX61Gs high-performance hardware and innovative software, gives mobile product
developers the dramatic power savings that enables a new and wider range of application possibilities.

31

SENSOR TECHNOLOGY

TECH ARTICLE
M o v i n g To w a r d s
a

When is a MagGyro Solution the Right Solution?

The answer is that it depends on the
requirements and needs of the application, as
well as the constraints. There are so many new
applications that can benefit from gyroscopic
information as sensing capabilities move into
the objects we carry, use, and wear. Consider
the motion of our joints, from head twists to
wrist rotations to knee extensionsso many
human motions are rotational in nature. But as
smartphones grow larger, the opposite trend
is occurring for the newer devices since objects
that are worn or carried need to be small, light,
and wireless.
It is true that the MagGyro is not as accurate
as a physical gyro, but it does provide accuracy
that is good enough for many designs while
also bringing significant benefits. In truth, the
question for the system designer will often
not come down to whether to use a MagGyro,
but whether to include a physical gyro.
Implementing a MagGyro is always beneficial.
In many designs it can be used to replace the
physical gyro relieving some of the cost, size,
and power burden that comes with a physical
gyro. In other cases, pairing the MagGyro with a
physical gyro offers distinct advantages. Since
applications using a physical gyro also include
an accelerometer and magnetometer, inclusion
of the MagGyro with the physical gyro comes
with little additional cost. It can provide the
gyro outputs in situations when the physical
gyro is turned off to conserve power, thereby
intelligently balancing performance and power
consumption. Also, it can be employed in
situations where the accuracy of the physical

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VP of Marketing & Business
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The MagGyro is
used to augment and
enhance the physical
gyro by calibrating the
physical gyros bias
and sensitivity.

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gyro is required. The MagGyro is used to augment
and enhance the physical gyro by calibrating the
physical gyros bias and sensitivity.
The market penetration of IMUs continues to
increase because of their ability to address the
needs of product designers who must support
the growing demand to make devices smarter.
The flexibility offered by 9-axis solutions with a
magnetic gyro provides an important addition to
the system designers toolbox and opens up new
application opportunities that ultimately lead to
positive market growth.

Power
Developer
October

2 0 13

From Concept
to

Reality

Sierra
Circuits:

Designing for

Durability

A Complete PCB
Resource

Wolfgang Heinz-Fischer
Head of Marketing & PR,
TQ-Group

TQ-Groups Comprehensive
Design Process

Freescale and
TI Embedded
Modules

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CEO of Sierra Circuits

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Ground Myth
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PCB Resin Reactor

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Low-Power Design Techniques