ST has partnered with Qualcomm Technologies to launch a sensor solution for a 6-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU)

     STMicroelectronics will develop innovative software solutions using Technologies from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., through its participation in the Qualcomm Platform Solutions Ecosystem program. This collaboration will further expand ST's leadership in sensor technology.Under the program, ST provides Oems with pre-proven MEMS and other sensor software to deliver advanced capabilities for next-generation smartphones, connected PCS, iot and wearables. Recently, Qualcomm Technologies has pre-selected ST's latest high-precision, low-power, motion-tracking ics with smart sensor software, as well as ST's most accurate pressure sensor, within its latest advanced 5G mobile reference platform.

     The new motion tracking sensor iNEMO LSM6DST is a 6-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) that integrates a 3-axis digital accelerometer and a 3-axis gyroscope in a compact and efficient system-level package. The LSM6DST's power consumption is among the lowest in the industry, at 0.55mA in high-performance mode and only 4µA in accelerometer only mode, enabling full-time, high-accuracy motion tracking with extremely low power consumption. The LPS22HH is ST's industry's first low-noise (0.65Pa), high-accuracy (±0.5hPa) pressure sensor with an I3C bus, and the LSM6DST with the LPS22HH offers improved position tracking accuracy while meeting the most stringent power budget constraints.

     For imaging applications, the LSM6DST fully supports EIS and OIS (Electronic and Optical image stabilization) applications, as the module includes dedicated configurable OIS and auxiliary SPI signal processing paths, configurable gyroscope and accelerometer signal paths, and in turn, The auxiliary SPI and main interface (SPI/I²C & MIPI I3CSM) can be configured with OIS.

     Thanks to ST's robust and proven low-power ThELMA[1] process technology, the LSM6DST can support and simplify low-power circuit design and provide an I²C, MIPII3C or SPI interface to connect sensors and application processors. In this inertial unit, 9 KB FIFO memory supports dynamic data batch processing, and 16 finite state machines can recognize programmable data sequences from sensors and further reduce system-level power consumption.

     Manvinder Singh, vice president of product management at Qualcomm Technologies, said: "ST has long recognized the importance of sensors in Qualcomm Technologies solutions and has been a valued partner to us for many years. ST is at the forefront of the market with new interface sensors, such as the MIPI I3C, that maintain or improve sensor accuracy while effectively reducing the power budget of the product. We are excited to have ST join the Qualcomm Platform Solutions Ecosystem program to integrate and optimize its advanced sensor algorithms on the always-on low-power module of our Qualcomm®Snapdragon™ mobile platform." Partnerships with strategic vendors such as ST will be critical to accelerate the adoption of 5G technology in different vertical markets."

     Andrea Onetti, Vice President of ST's Analog, MEMS and Sensor Products Group and general manager of the MEMS Sensors Division, said: "Working closely with Qualcomm Technologies for many years, we are able to ensure that Sensor performance meets the demanding requirements of next-generation mobile devices, wearables, and software solutions that support the Qualcomm Sensor Execution Environment, including advanced features such as, Detect hinge or folding corners for smartphones and mobile PCS, and allow these features to be seamlessly integrated, faster to market, and meet the needs of customers around the world. The industry's lowest-power, high-accuracy IMU, combined with a highly accurate, reliable pressure sensor with extremely low time, temperature and drift, delivers the highest positioning accuracy currently available to meet the e911 and eCall requirements."