Sony's SmartWatch 3 is the first major design win for PNI Sensor's SENtral sensor fusion coprocessor. PNI Sensor Corp. is releasing the world's first complete wearable development kit this week. The tiny circuit board integrates PNI's smart SENtral sensor hub, all necessary MEMS sensors and sensor-fusion algorithms, a programmable ARM processor and low-power Bluetooth, all in a form factor the size of a bracelet.

"I believe the value in the wearables will come from data analytics," CEO Becky Oh told EE Times. "My hope is that tools like the SENtrode will help bring the next killer application to the market faster by 'democratizing innovation.'"

The SENtrode is small enough to base a smart watch or wellness monitor on. SENtrode is also available in a larger form factor suitable for inclusion in a smart home appliance.

Besides that normal complement of inertial sensors for motion tracking, the kit also includes a heart rate monitor and an environmental sensor. The small version measures 31.55x37.15x8.28mm, and is connected to a bracelet. The larger form-factor measures 31.55x37.x8.65mm.

On the board is PNI's SENtral sensor hub plus its sensors including an accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, and pressure sensor already connected to PNI's smart sensor hub, which contains all the sensor fusion algorithms you need. It is also sensor agnostic as it can use any MEMS manufacturer's devices while minimizing power consumption. Also on the board is integrated low-power Bluetooth and a heart rate monitor (on a daughter board) as well as humidity and gas sensors (on optional daughter boards).

This article was originally published on EE Times.