Environmental sensor opens up mobile capabilities

The sensor enables new capabilities for mobile devices such as air quality measurement, personalised weather stations, indoor navigation, fitness monitoring, home automation and other Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

The sensor is atiny, low-power microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device that integrates a gas sensor with air pressure, humidity and ambient air temperature sensing functions.

The gas sensor can detect a broad range of gases in order to measure indoor air quality, including volatile organic compounds (VOC) — from sources such as paints, cleaning supplies, furnishings, and adhesives — down to the parts-per-million (ppm) range.

The BME680's pressure accuracy provides precise altitude information. The fast response time for measurement of humidity and ambient temperature enables new applications, such as personalised weather information and air quality monitoring.

The sensor is equipped with both I²C and SPI communication interfaces, as well as three power modes and oversampling rates for pressure and temperature measurements that can be configured separately to help designers easily adapt the BME680 to different applications.

An integrated IIR filter eliminates short-term measurement fluctuations caused by potential environmental influences.