Industrial Magnetometer and eCompass for Smart-Meter Tamper Detection and Precision Motion Sensing

Published  August 1, 2018   1
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Industrial Magnetometer and eCompass for Smart-Meter Tamper Detection and Precision Motion Sensing

STMicroelectronics released IIS2MDC magnetometer and ISM303DAC eCompass intended to be used as reliable and low-power tamper detection for smart meters and precision motion and distance sensing in various applications such as industrial automation and robotics, smart buildings, smart security, and medical devices.

 

With an integrated AMR (Anisotropic Magneto-Resistive) magnetometer with high dynamic range of ±50 Gauss, both the sensors meet best-in-class benchmarks for resolution and low power consumption. In addition, they feature an integrated temperature sensor and provide a 16-bit digital output via a built-in I2C/SPI serial interface.

 

The ISM303DAC’s also contain an integrated low-noise 3-axis accelerometer with user-selectable full-scale range up to ±16g, which allow dual-mode magnetic/physical tamper detection. It also makes it suitable for applications such as antenna pointing, positioning and navigation, robot guidance, and general industrial motion tracking or distance sensing. To reduce the power consumption, the magnetic and accelerometer blocks can be powered down separately.

 

We can also configure them to generate an interrupt signal for magnetic-field detection and automatically compensate for hard-iron offsets provided from the higher application layer. Moreover, the ISM303DAC can generate interrupts upon recognition of freefall events, tap and double-tap, activity or inactivity, 6D-orientation thresholds, and wake-up events. A built-in FIFO stores accelerometer data to minimize main-processor intervention and, as a result, reduce system power consumption.

 

The available development support includes drivers for both the sensors, and software examples including tilt-compensated electronic compass, dynamic magnetometer calibration, and 6-axis or 9-axis sensor fusion. The STEVAL-MKI185V1 adapter board for the IIS2MDC and STEVAL-MKI184V1 for the ISM303DAC are also available, ready to plug into a standard DIL24 socket on a motherboard such as the STEVAL-MKI109V3 professional MEMS board to assist development using ST’s Unico GUI.

 

The IIS2MDC and ISM303DAC are available now in the leadless 2mm x 2mm x 0.7mm LGA-12 package, priced from $0.85 for the IIS2MDC or $1.9 for the ISM303DAC. The adapter boards are available directly from ST or from distributors, at the recommended price of $16 for the STEVAL-MKI185V1 or $17.15 for the STEVAL-MKI184V1. The STEVAL-MKI109V3 main board is also available from ST or distributors, priced $85.75.