ST technology powers PIQ multi-sport wearable sensor

For tennis, through a partnership with the French string and racket company Babolat, the on-wrist display shows statistics such as speed and lift and data from each shot is shared with a mobile application for detailed analysis. When used as a golf sensor with Mobitee golfing accessories and digital course maps, the PIQ device displays distance to the green and shares data for instant playback of shots. To add a feature for ski sessions, PIQ has partnered with Rossignol to launch a strap and a mobile application that can record runs, analyse jumps and turns and allow skiers to challenge friends!

Cédric Mangaud, CEO, PIQ, commented: “Our goal was to deliver the best possible user experiences by every applicable metric to make sport more exciting. ST simply had the best control, sense, communication and power-management solutions to help achieve this. This allowed us to have ST as 1-stop supplier, without any compromise, and positions us to continue on the path to meeting our ambition of 24 sports and games in our application and partnership portfolio.”

The PIQ team chose ST’s efficient and high-performing STM32F4 microcontroller for the multi-sport sensor’s main controller to achieve the peak performance needed for complex processing of sensor data. The STM32F4’s rich set of power-management features helped cut power consumption to the absolute minimum, to maximise battery lifetime, which is a critical parameter in wearables.

PIQ’s Bluetooth wireless subsystem connects to the user’s smartphone using ST’s BlueNRG Bluetooth Smart wireless controller. BlueNRG has best-in-class low power consumption and saves space when teamed with the BALF-NRG companion chip for connecting the radio aerial. BALF-NRG leverages ST’s IPD Integrated Passive Devices expertise, occupying as little as 1.19mm² on the circuit board while also enhancing wireless performance.

The PIQ design team has also taken advantage of ST’s pre-eminence in MEMS technology to integrate the LPS25HB barometric pressure sensor. ST is the market leader in MEMS and sensors for wearables, with over 25% market share according to the analyst IHS, and has almost 1,000 MEMS-related patents and patent applications worldwide. In addition, the multi-sport sensor benefits from the high performance and efficiency of the STBC02 lithium-battery charge controller, which helps manage power and maximise battery life, and the STM6600 smart push-button controller for the on/off and reset buttons.

Moreover, ST is supplying major components of the PIQ sensor’s battery charger, a separate device that takes advantage of the STBCFG01 high-efficiency battery charger IC with smart charge-control features, the LD39130S ultra-small high-accuracy voltage regulator and the low-cost, power-efficient STM32F0 as the battery-charger system MCU.

The STM32F4, STM32F0 and BlueNRG Bluetooth IC all feature ARM Cortex-M cores. ST is the world’s leading supplier of ARM Cortex-M microcontrollers and has a portfolio spanning all core types including M0, M0+, M3, M4 and the latest M7.

“The PIQ multi-sport sensor is a remarkable achievement that takes wearable devices to the next level,” added Philip Lolies, EMEA Vice President, Marketing & Application, STMicroelectronics. “The many ST components chosen for this project show how our highly miniaturised, energy-conscious devices and associated design-enablement tools present a powerful solution for the next generation of smart things.”