Bluetooth SoC used in cyclocomputer for cyclists

9th April 2014

Staff Reporter

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The SmartBond DA14580 SoC, from Dialog Semiconductor, has been used in the Cateye Strada Smart Cyclocomputer. The Strada Smart is a device that aggregates the data from smart sensors located on the bike and the cyclist. The data held by the Strada Smart cyclocomputer can then be transferred wirelessly to a smartphone where an app provides an enhanced cycling training experience. The Strada Smart harvests cycling data and presents it to the consumer in a practical, easy to digest way to measure performance improvement and support fitness tracking.

Sean McGrath, Senior Vice-President & General Manager of the Connectivity, Automotive & Industrial Business Group at Dialog commented, “The DA14580 SmartBond SoC is the world’s smallest and lowest power Bluetooth Smart device. It more than doubles the battery life of an application-enabled smartphone accessory or wearable device in comparison to competing solutions on the market. Cateye needed a solution for their innovative new product that delivered low-power, optimised system cost and a small form factor while requiring the fewest external components, which is exactly what the DA14580 delivers.”

Mitsuhiro Nakamura, General Manager at Cateye said, “Dialog’s DA14580 provides stable and low power operation for our cyclocomputer, in both “slave” and “master” modes, and is capable of concurrent multi connections in the Bluetooth Smart single mode. The small footprint of the DA14580 has enabled us to replace our conventional proprietary wireless technology with standard Bluetooth Smart for the cycle market. It brings a high quality user experience by providing seamless connectivity to the internet via a smartphone. With the release of the CC-RD500B Strada Smart enabled with Bluetooth Smart technology, Cateye is looking forward to driving further innovation in the sport & fitness marketplace.”

In combination with a variety of analog and digital interfaces and including an embedded ARM Cortex™ M0 processor, the DA14580 has the lowest power available with less than 15mW active, 600 nA standby current, and with the smallest package sized at 2.5x2.5x0.5mm, it is half the size of competing solutions. In this particular application for Cateye, the DA14580 demonstrates the unique capability of functioning concurrently in both “master” and “slave” modes.

The Strada Smart Cyclocomputer is expected to launch worldwide in June 2014.