Dialog Semiconductor has announced the first shipments of its SmartBond DA14585 Bluetooth low energy (BLE) system-on-chip (SoC) to two internationally-recognized suppliers to the automotive industry for use in tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) sensors.

A TPMS sensor is an electronic subsystem for monitoring the air pressure and temperature within automobile tires, alerting drivers of improperly-inflated tires or other safety information in real time. Most typical TPMS sensors use proprietary or non-standard sub-GHz radios to transfer information to the automobile’s computer, but by replacing these radios with BLE connectivity, TPMS can now take advantage of a worldwide standard and the interoperability it brings with the added benefit of long battery lifetime and smartphone connectivity.

To build a Bluetooth low energy-enabled TPMS, only sensors supporting pressure, temperature and acceleration and a battery need to be added. The DA14585 handles the entire processing required for the TPMS application, with no additional microcontroller needed. Further benefits include high security, upgradable firmware and connectivity to automobile computers via a single node for all Bluetooth low energy functions.

“TPMS is already mandated in the United States, South Korea, and the European Union,” said Sean McGrath, SVP and GM of the Connectivity, Automotive and Industrial Business Unit, Dialog Semiconductor. “With other countries such as China and Japan reviewing their own mandates, the early adoption of Bluetooth low energy for TPMS represents an excellent opportunity for Dialog to support the automotive market’s move into the next phase of connectivity and also address the rapidly-growing TPMS aftermarket with these first design wins.”

The DA14585  is available for purchase through Avnet, Digi-Keyand Mouser Electronics. It supports standalone as well as hosted applications and is supported by a complete development environment. For more information on the DA14585 and Dialog’s Bluetooth SmartBond technology, visit https://www.dialog-semiconductor.com/bluetooth-low-energy.