Bosch BMI270, Bosch Sensortec 6-axis ultra-low power smart IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit)

Bosch Sensortec 6-axis ultra-low-power smart IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit). It integrates a 3-axis accelerometer and a 3-axis gyroscope. It belongs to the BMI260 family, optimized for wearable and earbud applications, and is pin-to-pin compatible as a direct replacement for the BMI160.

Key Specifications

- Package: LGA14, 2.5×3.0×0.8 mm

- Resolution: 16-bit for accelerometer; 16-bit for gyroscope

- Selectable accelerometer full-scale range: ±2g / ±4g / ±8g / ±16g

- Selectable gyroscope full-scale range: ±125 / 250 / 500 / 1000 / 2000 dps

- Output data rate: Accelerometer 0.78 Hz ~ 1.6 kHz; Gyroscope 25 Hz ~ 6.4 kHz

- Interface: I2C / SPI

- Supply voltage: 1.71 ~ 3.6 V

- Power consumption: Typ. 685 μA in full operation; 3.5 μA in sleep mode; as low as 30 μA in motion recognition mode

- On-chip resources: 2 KB FIFO, on-chip temperature sensor, CRT rotationless self-calibration

- Operating temperature: -40 ℃ ~ +85 ℃

 Functions

It measures 3D acceleration, angular velocity, tilt attitude, vibration and motion.

Its biggest advantage: motion recognition, step counting and gesture processing are computed directly inside the sensor. This avoids frequent wake-up of the main MCU to save power and extend battery life for wearable devices.

## Built-in Features

1. Plug-and-play wrist-based step counter (optimized for smartwatches and fitness bands)

2. Gesture recognition: wrist flip, raise wrist, tap, shake, etc.

3. Activity recognition: walking, stationary, running and other motion status detection

4. Motion interrupt, free-fall detection, tilt detection

5. CRT gyroscope self-calibration; no rotation calibration required during production, lowering manufacturing cost

6. FIFO buffer to reduce host MCU reading load

Application Scope

- Wearables: Smartwatches, fitness bands, fitness trackers

- TWS earbuds: Head pose detection, wear detection, tap gesture recognition

- Smart glasses, AR glasses

- Smart apparel, smart footwear

- Small remote controllers, VR controllers

- Small attitude-sensing IoT devices, low-power robots

⚠️ Not suitable for high-frequency high-speed FPV drones; compare with ICM42688P

> Sales elevator pitch: The BMI270 is the preferred 6-axis IMU for wearables. It features ultra-low power, built-in step counting and gesture functions, pin-to-pin replacement for BMI160, ideal for watches, TWS earbuds and AR glasses.