OREANDA-NEWS. January 12, 2016.  Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions launches three innovative new sensor-based products at the 2016 International CES in Las Vegas, USA. The new devices provide smart solutions for homes, offices and vehicles, to help improve comfort, convenience and safety, as well as helping developers to quickly create new Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.

Measuring environmental conditions
To optimize the environment and improve living comfort in a smart home or connected office building, a smart sensor can integrate the monitoring of ambient conditions such as air quality, light and noise intensity with the building's HVAC and lighting systems. Bosch's new Ambient Sensor meets this need, in a small form factor with two-year battery life, making it easy to position anywhere.

It includes integrated sensors to determine the indoor air quality by VOC analysis (volatile organic compounds), and measuring temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, and light and noise levels. It can be operated independently or as part of a smart home ecosystem. Particularly in meeting rooms, concentration is often affected by poor air quality. The Ambient sensor alerts the participants and thereby helps to improve work productivity.

Improving automotive safety
When a car has an accident, if it is fitted with an eCall system, this can automatically and quickly contact the emergency services – speeding up a response, and potentially saving lives.

The new Bosch Retrofit eCall plug is a smart sensor device that uses acceleration sensors and intelligent embedded algorithms to detect an accident and then send data to a smartphone app via Bluetooth. This data is sent to a back-end IT system that can determine actions, such as a call center calling the driver to provide assistance, or in extreme cases making an emergency call.

The Retrofit eCall is a cost-effective solution and plugs into a standard 12V DC socket, so can be easily and quickly retrofitted to any type of car.

Rapid prototyping and fast product development for IoT applications
To save time in developing Internet of Things (IoT) projects, quickly creating a demo or proof of concept is key. Bosch's new XDK, or Cross Domain Development Kit, is a rapid prototyping tool that enables developers to bring their IoT designs to life swiftly and easily.

XDK is a fully integrated hardware and software product, including a MEMS accelerometer, magnetometer and gyroscope, as well as humidity, pressure, temperature, acoustic and digital light sensors. The kit includes Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity, a microcontroller, integrated antennas, a micro SD card slot and a rechargeable battery.

The software development environment offers access to different API layers which allow the user to program at their preferred depth. An algorithm library and sample applications are provided, as well as access to an online community to share information and support projects. The XDK was designed to allow users an easy transition from prototype to mass production by providing a clear road to product development.

*The sales figure disclosed for 2014 does not include the former joint ventures BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausger?te GmbH (now BSH Hausger?te GmbH) and ZF Lenksysteme GmbH (now Robert Bosch Automotive Steering GmbH), which have since been taken over completely.