STMicroelectronics has revealed an exclusive collaboration that allows smartphones and other devices to measure home and environmental air quality with an integrated optical sensor.
Developed exclusively for ST's multi-zone range sensors, which are widely used for features such as camera autofocus and presence detection, this solution measures particles in the surrounding air. With accuracy comparable to purpose-built air quality monitors, Mobile Physics' EnviroMeter app acts as a personal, portable environmental monitor and smoke detector to protect health – and improve fire safety. Made with ST's low power consumption technology, it can operate “always on” to provide constant alerting with minimal impact on battery life.
Every year, 3.2 million people die prematurely from illnesses attributable to household air pollution. The combined effects of environmental air pollution and household air pollution are associated with 6.7 million premature deaths annually (1) . Monitoring air quality has become a real need and a public health problem. Leveraging ST's market positioning to accelerate integration, the two companies integrated Mobile Physics' software and ST's VL53L8 direct time of flight (dToF) sensor into Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 smartphone platform. As showcased at the Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit 2023, this project creates the world's first smartphone with always-on air quality sensing and smoke detection.
The air quality sensing solution developed with ST is included in Mobile Physics' EnviroMeter Software Development Kit (SDK), which also provides data on temperature, wind, precipitation, humidity, light intensity, UV, and noise level monitoring. The detection can detect particles smaller than 2.5 microns and thus empower users to protect their health. The solution does not require any additional equipment; a standard dToF sensor and Mobile Physics software are all that are needed.
To learn more about this solution, come to the ST booth (7A61) at Mobile World Congress 2024, where we will present the air quality monitoring demonstration.
The VL53L8 is used in a variety of electronic products, including smart speakers, projectors, laptops, robots and home appliances, and door entry systems, as well as IoT devices such as occupancy sensors. Any of these products can now provide extra value by providing air quality indication and fire protection without the need for extra hardware components. The sensor's small size, measuring just 6.4mm x 3.0mm x 1.75mm, makes it easy to integrate anywhere a small form factor is needed.
Engineers can accelerate projects including proximity and presence detectors using ST's available development ecosystem. This includes the X-Nucleo-53L8A1 development board, the P-Nucleo-53L8A1 evaluation package which also contains a microcontroller development board and SATEL-VL53L8 breakout boards. The VL53L8 is in production now. Pricing information and sample requests are available from your local ST sales offices.
