Product of the Week: Bosch Sensortec Application Board 3.0
September 16, 2021
Blog
The heart of IoT is edge sensors, where analog signals begin their transformation into digital information. But there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all sensor; choosing which type is best suited for your application and how it will perform in real-world environments requires extensive evaluation before official development can even begin.
Unless you can review multiple sensors in quick yet detailed succession.
The Bosch Sensortec Application Board 3.0 is a “sensor-independent” rapid prototyping platform that, as it turns out, is designed for plug-and-play assessment of the company’s sensors and solutions. In this case, sensor independence means that users can try out any of Bosch Sensortec’s environmental sensors, motion sensors, and smart sensor systems on a common platform that integrates an Arm Cortex-M4F-based Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 Bluetooth 5.0 SoC, housed on a u-blox NINA-B302 module.
The Application Board 3.0 pairs with a variety of small form factor “shuttle boards” that contain Bosch Sensortec solutions such as:
- BMX160 Absolute Orientation Sensor
- BMA456 and BMA400 Accelerometers
- BME680 Gas Sensor
- BME280 Humidity Sensor
- BMI270, BMI088, and BMI085 IMUs
- BMM150 Magnetometer
- BMP388 Pressure Sensor
- BHI260AP Smart Sensor System
This versatility makes the 37 mm x 47 mm x 7 mm Application Board 3.0 a great starting point for smart home, wearables, and Industry 4.0 designs.
The Bosch Sensortec Application Board 3.0 in Action
Designed for maximum ease of use, Bosch Sensortec shuttle boards plug into the application board via two sets of 7-pin headers. Since these shuttle boards are identical in almost every way save the onboard sensor(s), the Application Board 3.0 software recognizes the shuttle boards as soon as they are connected and can configure the host according to the sensor parameters.
The Application 3.0 board is supports user memory in the form of 256 KB RAM, 1 MB internal flash, and 2 GB of external flash memory to aid with the systems native data logging and plotting capabilities. Such data can be transmitted to a host or development PC over BLE, Bluetooth 5.0, or USB 2.0 connections, and then accessed via PC software like Desktop Development or COINES. Aside from application development based on captured data, the IDEs offer a simplified GUI for tuning sensors, troubleshooting, and debugging development issues as well.
Perhaps best of all, the Application Board 3.0 is certified and compliant with networking directives and other standards from multiple international regions, including CE, RoHS, China RoHS, FCC, IC, VCCI, SRRC and NCC. This level of attention to commercial-grade design allows developers to transition from prototype to production in no time.
Getting Started:
Bosch’s Sensortec Sensor Prototyping Platform offers a user guide for the Application Board 3.0, which is available now. An application note is also provided for additional information on datalogging tools. The Bosch Sensortec Community is also available for users to share and discuss sensor solutions from Bosch Sensortec.
To get started with the board, purchase one from major distributors for roughly USD $75, or check out the additional resources below.
Additional Information:
- Bosch Sensortec Application Board 3.0 Product Page: www.bosch-sensortec.com/software-tools/tools/application-board-3-0/#table
- Bosch Sensortec Application Board 3.0 Product Brief: www.bosch-sensortec.com/media/boschsensortec/downloads/software_tools/application_boards/bst-dhw-fl045.pdf
- Bosch Sensortec Application Board 3.0 User Guide: https://www.bosch-sensortec.com/media/boschsensortec/downloads/software_tools/application_board_3_0/user_guides/bst-dhw-an008-en.pdf
- Bosch Sensortec Application Board 3.0 Application Note: www.bosch-sensortec.com/media/boschsensortec/downloads/application_notes_1/bst-dhw-an012.pdf
