STMicroelectronics won the Best of Sensors 2023 Award at this year's Sensors Converge Conference and Expo in a special ceremony held in Santa Clara, Calif. These awards were created to recognize outstanding innovations in the sensor ecosystem, along with the companies and individuals behind them. There were 14 award recipients, one for each category. Fierce Electronics was proud to present the award in the MEMS category to STMicroelectronics for its LIS2DUX12, an ultralow-power accelerometer with AI and anti-aliasing.
"Innovation is critical to the success of all of the products we introduce into the marketplace and having those products chosen by expert judges as the best, or among the best, in their category is a big validation that helps us win the ultimate contest: for customers' designs," said Marco Angelici, vice president of marketing and applications at STMicroelectronics.
This groundbreaking accelerometer has set new standards in terms of energy efficiency, edge processing capabilities, and adaptability, according to the company. At the core of the LIS2DUX12 lies a MEMS and ASIC architecture that prioritizes energy conservation without compromising on performance. A unique selling point of this sensor is its ability to maintain always-on anti-aliasing filtering, thanks to its finite state machine (FSM) and machine learning core (MLC) with adaptive self-configuration (ASC). This combination of technologies ensures that the power consumption of the LIS2DUX12 is kept to a minimum, extending battery life and making it ideal for power-sensitive applications.
The integration of a finite state machine and machine learning core with adaptive self-configuration sets the LIS2DUX12 apart from conventional accelerometers. These smart features facilitate top
edge processing capabilities, allowing the accelerometer to continuously analyze motion and acceleration data within the sensor itself. Offloading the processing tasks from the host system not only saves valuable computational resources but also results in faster system responses, making for seamless user experiences.
To cater to its use in diverse application scenarios, the LIS2DUX12 has four different performance modes. In high-performance mode, the accelerometer operates with an anti-aliasing filter that consumes just 10.8 microamperes to ensure precise data capture. The low-power mode finds an optimal balance between power efficiency and sensitivity and draws only 6.2 microamperes. For applications that need even less of an energy draw, the ultra-low power mode consumes just 2.7 microamperes, making it the perfect choice for wearable devices or remote sensors. And finally, the power-down mode requires a current of only 0.01 microampere, ensuring that the minimum amount of power is consumed during idle periods.
The versatility of the LIS2DUX12 comes in part from its user-selectable full scales of ±2g/±4g/±8g/±16g, allowing it to adapt seamlessly to various acceleration ranges. Also, the accelerometer supports output data rates from 1.6 hertz to 800 hertz, accommodating a variety of applications that require different data capture frequencies. Its dedicated internal engine enables advanced motion and acceleration detection, including free-fall, single/double/triple-tap recognition, activity/inactivity, and 6D/4D orientation. The versatility of the LIS2DUX12 makes it a reliable choice for wearable devices, game controllers, portable healthcare devices, asset trackers, and wireless sensor nodes.
STMicroelectronics is a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications. It works with more than 200,000 customers and thousands of partners to design and build products, solutions, and ecosystems that address their challenges and opportunities and the need to support a more sustainable world.
To learn more about the Best of Sensors awards and the other winners, check out this article.