The basics of designing wearable electronics with microcontrollers

Vairamuthu Ramasamy, Chethan Gowda, and Sivaguru Noopuran, Cypress Semiconductor
embedded.com (June 17, 2014)

‘Wearable’ devices are miniature electronic devices worn on the body, often integrated with or designed to replace existing accessories such as a watch. This market segment is booming, enabled by Internet of Things technology. Thus the need for smaller, more intuitive devices is rapidly increasing. Some of the current trends are smart watches, smart glasses, and sports and fitness activity trackers. In addition to the consumer market, the medical industry is creating a demand for devices that monitor physical conditions and functions.

The most important electronic component in wearable devices is the microcontroller. As these MCUs need to be small and at the same time perform more functions, integration becomes another important factor. In this article, we look at

• The different requirements for a wearable electronic system
• How the market can be segmented based on these requirements
• Different components in a typical wearable device
• How MCUs can address these requirements

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