According to the company, the device offers embedded and configurable functions designed to help OEMs address specific product requirements, including orientation, tap, double tap, jolt, freefall and shake detection capabilities.
The company said that the MMA8450Q sensor features 12-bit digital resolution and is contained in a compact, 3 x 3 x 1mm package. It offers data management capabilities, with an internal first-in/first-out (FIFO) 32-samples/axis (X-, Y- and Z-axis) memory buffer engineered to improve overall system power savings and response time by offloading functions from the host processor.
Using the FIFO buffer along with the embedded functions can allow the end processor to analyze only the required data and at the same time helping to protect from the possibility of data loss when multiplexing other sensors on the same I2C bus, the company added.
In addition, configurable power saving modes and auto-wake/sleep capability help designers achieve optimal current consumption. The extensive configurability for each of the embedded functions that can be tied to the auto-wake/sleep function can enable context-aware products for more power efficiency.
Target applications for the MMA8450Q accelerometer include portable consumer devices such as mobile phones and remote controls, as well as smartbooks, eReaders, netbooks, laptop PCs, PMPs and PDAs. Additional applications include activity monitoring for medical applications, dead-reckoning assistance for navigation applications, position detection for fleet tracking and safety shutoff for power tools and small appliances.
To help accelerate time-to-market and demonstrate the benefits of the multiple embedded functions of the MMA8450Q, Freescale offers two development kits that both come with a PC Graphical User Interface software program.
Freescale offers the RD3924MMA8450Q development kit that contains the necessary components for evaluating the MMA8450Q accelerometer including the sensor board (LFSTBEB8450Q) and the USB communication board (LFSTBUSB).
