Bosch Sensortec Brings Firstbeat On-board for New Generation of Sensor Hubs

JYVÄSKYLÄ, Finland, February 22nd, 2016 — Firstbeat’s role as a leading contributor to the wearable technology industry was highlighted today at Mobile World Congress 2016, in Barcelona, Spain.

Bosch Sensortec, a company whose sensors are featured in three-fourths of the world’s smartphones, revealed a new generation of sensor hubs, the first to feature optimization for Firstbeat’s innovative physiologically-based analytic capabilities.

The new BHV250 and BHV160 sensor hubs are Android Wear compatible and each represents an all-in-one sensor subsystem. In addition to Firstbeat analytics, these sensors offer best-in-class sensor fusion software, an optimized FUSER Core microcontroller, MEMS inertia sensors and the lowest power usage available in the market. Support for a wide-range of different PPG chipsets is offered.

Firstbeat’s involvement with the development of these sensor hubs ensures that they offer signal data from the body in a way that is optimal for use with Firstbeat’s advanced physiologically based analytics. The result of this collaboration between Firstbeat and Bosch is a highly integrated product that offers flexibility to developers and manufactures and accurate physiologically-based insights for consumers

Optimization for Firstbeat’s widely-used analytics, small size, and ultra-low power consumption makes these sensor hubs especially well-suited for use in popular applications that feature always-on physiological sensing like fitness wristbands, earphones and smart textiles.

For those who rely on Firstbeat’s physiological expertise and innovative analytics to offer sleep analysis, calorie expenditure calculations, fitness training evaluation and monitoring of stress and recovery, the BHV250 and BHV160 sensor hubs offer a state-of-the-art solution to the challenge of ensuring that sensor data is accurate and usable for advanced analytic applications.

This product announcement marks a continuation of successful collaboration between Firstbeat and industry leaders in the wearable and mobile technology sectors.

Supporting Quotes:

“With this all-round sensor subsystem, our customers can now focus on providing added value to their end users, confident in the knowledge that they have a highly integrated, ultra-low power solution. With the fitness tracking and wearables markets expanding so rapidly, we await with great interest the explosion of innovation that will be triggered by this technology.” – Jeanne Forget-Funk, VP Marketing at Bosch Sensortec.

“Firstbeat’s revolutionary analytics software creates a digital model of a user’s physiology through advanced modeling of heart function and heart rate variability (HRV). The Bosch sensor subsystem provides the accurate data and flexible programmability that enables our software to deliver new insights to users at ultra-low power consumption.” – Joni Kettunen, CEO and Co-founder of Firstbeat.

For Inquiries, Contact:
Joni Kettunen, CEO Firstbeat
joni.kettunen@firstbeat.com
+358 50 324 0889

About Firstbeat
Firstbeat Technologies Ltd. (“Firstbeat”) is the leading provider of physiological analytics for sports, fitness and wellbeing. The Firstbeat technology turns heartbeat data into rich, personalized and actionable insights on exercise, stress, sleep and recovery. Firstbeat analytics is used by hundreds of elite sports teams, thousands of corporations, and millions of consumers worldwide to improve their performance and wellbeing. Firstbeat has developed revolutionary analytics technology that creates a digital model of user’s physiology through advanced modelling of heart function and heart rate variability (HRV).

About Bosch Sensortec
Bosch Sensortec GmbH is a fully owned subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH, dedicated to the consumer electronics world offering a complete portfolio of micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS) sensors and solutions that enable mobile devices to feel and sense the world around them. Bosch Sensortec develops and markets a wide portfolio of MEMS sensors and solutions for smart phones, tablets, wearable devices and IoT (Internet of Things) applications. The product portfolio includes 3-axis acceleration, gyroscope and geomagnetic sensors, integrated 6- and 9-axis as well as environmental sensors and a comprehensive software portfolio. Since its foundation in 2005, Bosch Sensortec has emerged as the technology leader in the addressed markets. The Bosch Group has been the global market leader for MEMS sensors since 1998 and has to date sold more than 6 billion MEMS sensors.