Misfit Wearables, a designer and manufacturer of wearable computing products, has chosen Silicon Labs’ EFM32 Leopard Gecko 32-bit microcontroller (MCU) as the energy-friendly controller for the Misfit Shine physical activity monitor.
The Gecko MCU communicates with the Shine’s 3-axis accelerometer, drives user interface LEDs and hosts a Wicentric Bluetooth low energy software stack, enabling connectivity with the Shine App running on Apple iOS devices such as iPhones and iPads.
Like all portable, battery-powered devices, the Shine wearable activity monitor requires extreme energy efficiency to maximize battery life. Instead of using a rechargeable battery, the Shine runs on a single, user-replaceable CR2032 lithium-ion watch battery for four months. Instead of having to recharge the device every few days, the end user simply wears the Shine and monitors his or her fitness activity daily without interruption until it is time to replace the battery.
The Misfit design team chose the Leopard Gecko MCU because it provides energy efficiency across all energy modes, enabling exceptionally long battery life coupled with optimal processing performance and a high level of integration in a small-footprint package.
“Achieving extreme energy efficiency in a wearable computer like the Shine is a formidable design challenge,” said Sonny Vu, CEO and co-founder of Misfit Wearables. “We needed a 32-bit embedded controller that could handle sophisticated algorithms, process and transmit lots of data, interact seamlessly with a motion-sensing accelerometer and fit within an insanely small form factor. The Leopard Gecko MCU is a perfect match for the Shine’s low-energy, data-intensive requirements, and Silicon Labs’ Simplicity Studio development tools accelerated our design team’s learning curve, meeting our critical need for fast time to market.”
“The Shine fitness monitor epitomizes elegant design inside and out, and we are delighted to play a role in helping Misfit bring their wearable computer to market,” said Geir Førre, senior vice president and general manager of Silicon Labs’ microcontroller products. “The Shine also represents a rapidly growing class of energy-sensitive, battery-powered, tiny-footprint wireless devices for which our energy-friendly EFM32 Gecko MCUs are exceptionally well-suited.”
The Misfit Shine is tapping into today’s burgeoning market for wearable computing devices. According to IMS Research (a part of IHS Electronic Media), sports and fitness monitors, running and cycling computers, and other physical activity trackers will reach 56.2 million unit shipments globally in 2017, up from 43.8 million units in 2013. IMS predicts that a total of 252 million units will ship over the next five years.
