BHI385 Smart IMU: Embedded AI for High-Dynamic Motion Sensing

The Bosch BHI385 is a compact, fully programmable smart inertial measurement unit (IMU) that integrates a 6-axis sensor (3-axis accelerometer + 3-axis gyroscope), embedded AI, and a 32-bit microcontroller into a single package. Designed for high-dynamic motion tracking, it supports acceleration measurements up to ±28 g and gyroscope ranges up to ±2000°/s, making it suitable for applications involving rapid or high-impact movements.

The BHI385 supports real-time sensor fusion (6DoF/9DoF), gesture recognition, activity classification, and self-learning cyclic gesture detection—all of which are processed locally on the device. This eliminates the need for continuous host CPU interaction, significantly reducing system power consumption. Developers can deploy custom machine learning models using the Bosch Motion AI Studio and Open SDK, enabling application-specific intelligence directly at the edge.

The device operates in multiple power modes, including high-performance, normal, low-power, and suspend, with typical current consumption under 500 µA for sensor fusion at 50 Hz. It supports SPI and I²C host interfaces and includes two secondary master interfaces for additional sensors. With 256 kB of on-chip SRAM and up to 14 GPIOs, the BHI385 offers a flexible platform for advanced motion analytics in space-constrained and power-constrained systems.