TDK Sensors Enhance The New Purpose-built Qualcomm® Robotics RB3 Platform for Consumer, Enterprise and Industrial Robot Manufacturers and Developers

Reading points:

1. TDK’s InvenSense ICM-42688 motion sensor eliminates critical sensor fusion timing errors, ensuring highly accurate timing of the sensor outputs relative to the clock domain of the new Qualcomm Robotics RB3 platform’s fusion engine in the sensor hub.

2. These specialized sensors are a part of the new Qualcomm Robotics RB3 Platform from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., which offers a highly optimized set of hardware, software, and tools designed to help manufacturers and developers create advanced consumer, enterprise, and industrial robotics products.

3. Platform also supports a 6-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU 3-axis gyroscope and 3-axis accelerometer), capacitive barometric pressure sensor, multi-mode digital microphones, and additional ports for supplementary sensors from TDK-InvenSense, for example, ultrasonic time-of-flight or gas sensors.

TDK Corporation announced it is working with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. through its group company, InvenSense, to contribute a product portfolio of MEMS motion and audio sensor solutions to the new Qualcomm Robotics RB3 Platform. Based on the Qualcomm® SDA/SDM845 system-on-chip (SoC), the Qualcomm Robotics RB3 platform is a comprehensive, highly optimized set of hardware, software, and tools designed to help manufacturers and developers create advanced consumer, enterprise, and industrial robotics products.

The Qualcomm Robotics RB3 platform will support InvenSense’s 6-axis IMUs (3-axis gyroscope and 3-axis accelerometer), capacitive barometric pressure sensor, and multi-mode digital microphones. The Qualcomm Robotics RB3 Platform also integrates two InvenSense IMU sensors able to quantify external real-time clock measurements to provide a high degree of precision, and includes support for ultra-low noise, industry-leading relative accuracy pressure sensor capable of measuring 10 cm of elevation difference.  The RB3 platform also integrates InvenSense microphones which bring both high SNR and high AOP. Multi-mode microphones are ideal in ‘AlwaysOn’ robotic applications where low power, high fidelity, tight sensitivity matching, and high acoustic overload point (AOP) are important.

“The Qualcomm Robotics RB3 Platform provides a new platform for the development of innovative new robotics products,” said Dev Singh, director of business development and head of autonomous robotics, drones, and intelligent machines at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “The platform takes full advantage of InvenSense’s high-performance sensors that are important for many applications in robotics, from industrial robots to enterprise service bots to personal consumer products. A development kit based on the Qualcomm Robotics RB3 Platform is available for purchase now from Thundercomm.”

“TDK provides many of the best motion and audio sensors available on the market today, and their inclusion in the Qualcomm Robotics RB3 platform will reduce the barrier-to-entry for consumer, enterprise, and industrial robot makers while maximizing their opportunities to innovate with a wide range of sensor solutions enabling quick design and development of smart effective solutions,” said Nicolas Sauvage, Senior Director, Ecosystem at TDK-InvenSense. “Contributing high-performance sensors to the next wave of robotics innovations on Qualcomm Robotics RB3 platform showcases TDK-InvenSense’s commitment to new developing market segments.”

Main applications

• Industrial Robotics

• Consumer Robotics

• Drone

Key features and benefits:

• Ultra-low noise and exceptional relative accuracy

• Ultra-low power

• Best gyroscope temperature stability