Our Next Generation Wearable – Sapphire

To further our existing family of devices, we are currently creating a new breed of wearable with significantly more processing power and human interaction capability, suitable for the wrist, pocket, or base of the back, permanently connected to the Internet via Bluetooth 5 and a Mosquito broker.

Our new wearable is not only aimed at fall detection, inside and outside of a smart-home, but also capable as a platform for the further development of near-fall detection, automatic classification of human emotion, all specifically built to enable more complex algorithms.

Our novel Sapphire architecture embeds a common messaging structure, enabling software to be deployed in the wearable, the room, the house, or the cloud, depending on the required reaction time and the algorithm complexity/dependencies.

It has the following features:

• Bluetooth 5 for long range communications. This reduces power consumption through shorter transmit times and maintain a continuous connection when at home or outside. Our ethos is to enable residents to feel safe and secure when outside their residence so they can gain well documented health benefits from being outdoors – working,
• Dual processor arrangement, one communications CPU dedicated for Bluetooth connectivity and one applications CPU dedicated for complex math processing and peripheral management – working,
• Either a Blue on Black OLED screen (working), a full-colour 1.41′ AMOLED 320×360 MIPI DSI screen (working), or just without a screen,
• Large and fast on-board FLASH memory (working), capable of storing uncompressed real-time accelerometer and gyro data, at 50Hz, for up to 2 days,
• Latest low-power IMU device (working), consuming 10 times less power than the device we currently use in SPW-2, enabling up to 25 days of operation on one battery charge with Bluetooth (while not storing to local FLASH),
• Automatic Fall Detection, rotation of the wrist to activate the screen, and Double tap for interaction – working,
• 4-channel Analogue to Digital Convertor to supplement movement detection with physiological measurements, suitable for emotion detection – working,
• Fast 4-channel SD card interface configuration and/or downloading of captured data – working,
• Continual Bluetooth 5 connection to a network of Raspberry Pi’s deployed around a home (working), themselves connected to our secure and reactive IoT backbone (in development),
• Over the Air (Bluetooth) firmware update for the Bluetooth SoC (working for Bluetooth 4, next issue will ave OAD for Bluetooth 5), firmware update for the application CPU (working), all remotely managed while in deployment, anywhere, through our IoT backbone (in development),
• Wireless Qi Charging (testing) and powerful internal 260mA/h LiPo battery with battery recovery (working).

We are please to report signicant progress. Some photos from our colour screen version connected to Sapphire:

 

Photos from our blue on black OLED screen version:

Sapphire v2a PCB was a manufacturing test that only contained the Bluetooth functionality. It was proven to work fine. The PCB fits into a commercial wearable case and wrist strap.

Sapphire v2b contains all Sapphire functionality, including drivers and interfaces for both an OLED and AMOLED interfaces, its purpose is to proove all the features.

The Sapphire v2b PCB CAD designs:

Sapphire v2b, top
Sapphire v2b, bottom

 

Sapphire v2b, top.

Sapphire v2b, bottom.

All the Bluetooth software has been working since 2017. The base wearable applications software has been tested.

In September 2020, the MIPI DSI was proven to work.

Please contact us for further details and requests to collaborate.