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Christmas goes digital: why mini Bosch components will feature in so many gifts this Christmas

Ten billion Bosch components in cell phones, cars, and game consoles

  • Global market leader: Bosch has manufactured more than ten billion MEMS sensors since 1995.
  • MEMS sensors enable cell phones to take sharp pictures and keep joggers posted on calories burned.
  • They are the key technology for the internet of things.
Joern Ebberg

Joern Ebberg

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Reutlingen, Germany – This year once again, the gifts under the Christmas tree will be emitting beeps, buzzes, and radio waves: according to Bitkom, some 70 percent of Germans will be giving digital gifts. This could be a smart watch, a game console, or of course a cell phone. This also means that Bosch will figure prominently under people’s Christmas trees, even though few may realize it. There’s at least one Bosch MEMS sensor in more than half the smartphones on the planet, and five of them on average in every new car. And there are millions more in drones, game consoles, fitness wristbands, and vacuum-cleaning robots. Bosch has produced more than ten billion of these miniature sensors in its wafer fab at Reutlingen, 40 kilometers south of Stuttgart, since 1995. “MEMS sensors are the building blocks of the connected world. They endow everyday objects with sensory perception and connect them with the internet,” says Jens Fabrowsky, member of the executive management of the Automotive Electronics division at Robert Bosch GmbH. With the number of connected devices rising fast – Gartner expects the global count to come to 20 billion by 2020 – MEMS sensors are sure to become chip-sized superheroes that we simply cannot do without.

MEMS sensors measure the world and teach electronic systems how to see, feel, and smell. They turn a simple cell phone into a smartphone that takes sharp pictures and navigates on the street and over multiple stories in buildings.

Jens Fabrowsky, member of the executive management of the Automotive Electronics division at Robert Bosch GmbH

Ten billion sensory organs

Rectangular or square and smaller than a pinhead at between one and four millimeters tall, these components are not easily seen. But however unremarkable MEMS sensors may seem at first glance, these mighty mites are the stars and polymaths of the connected world. “MEMS sensors measure the world and teach electronic systems how to see, feel, and smell. They turn a simple cell phone into a smartphone that takes sharp pictures and navigates on the street and over multiple stories in buildings,” Fabrowsky says. With the benefit of MEMS sensors, drones glide smoothly and can be controlled precisely even in winds. Installed in fitness trackers and smart watches, they count steps, stairs, and calories. These diminutive sensors’ fine-tuned receptors measure temperature, air pressure, humidity, and even air quality. They allow indoor air-conditioning and ventilation systems to be controlled more efficiently and, when office meetings drag on, they can trigger smartphone reminders that it is time for some fresh air. The first MEMS sensors developed nearly 25 years ago were not meant for smart-home technology or consumer electronics; they were destined for cars. These perceptive miniatures furnish data to the control units about when the car brakes or accelerates, as well as about the direction the car is traveling. The ESP electronic stability program uses this information to keep cars, trucks, and even motorcycles safely on track and in their lanes. Moreover, the GPS never loses sight of its destination, even if its signal is temporarily interrupted.

What exactly are MEMS sensors?

Microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS for short, are a combination of electronic and mechanical hardware. Every MEMS sensor consists of tiny silicon structures that are machined into a silicon wafer with a special type of etching process. For example, under a microscope, an acceleration sensor’s structures look like gossamer combs arranged in opposing and interlocking patterns. Some of these fine comb-like structures measure a mere four micrometers across – that is just a tenth the size of an ant’s leg. The force of a car accelerating or braking squeezes these combs. This changes the electrical voltage between the individual teeth, transforming a mechanical force into an electrical signal. A control unit interprets this signal and processes it further as a digital value. Bosch developed the manufacturing process behind MEMS technology nearly 25 years ago. It still forms the basis of today’s production runs, which take up to 14 weeks and entail several hundred steps. These tiny sensors are manufactured under exacting cleanroom conditions, as even the smallest airborne particles would disrupt their production. One cubic foot of air – that is about 30 liters – may contain no more than one particle weighing half a microgram. To put this into perspective, that equates to a cherry pit in Lake Constance – or 360 million bathtubs.

Additional information:
Video: Acceleration sensor: how it works
10 billion MEMS sensors on the internet

Contact person for press inquiries
Annett Fischer
Phone: +49 711 811-6286
Twitter: @Annett__Fischer

Mobility is the largest Bosch Group business sector. In 2023, its sales came to 56.2 billion euros, or just under 60 percent of total Group sales. This makes the Bosch Group one of the leading mobility suppliers. Bosch Mobility pursues a vision of mobility that is safe, sustainable, and exciting. For its customers, the outcome is integrated mobility solutions. The business sector’s main areas of activity are electrification, software and services, semiconductors and sensors, vehicle computers, advanced driver assistance systems, systems for vehicle dynamics control, repair-shop concepts, as well as technology and services for the automotive aftermarket. Bosch is synonymous with important automotive innovations, such as electronic engine management, the ESP anti-skid system, and common-rail diesel technology.

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 429,000 associates worldwide (as of December 31, 2023). The company generated sales of 91.6 billion euros in 2023. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. With its business activities, the company aims to use technology to help shape universal trends such as automation, electrification, digitalization, connectivity, and an orientation to sustainability. In this context, Bosch’s broad diversification across regions and industries strengthens its innovativeness and robustness. Bosch uses its proven expertise in sensor technology, software, and services to offer customers cross-domain solutions from a single source. It also applies its expertise in connectivity and artificial intelligence in order to develop and manufacture user-friendly, sustainable products. With technology that is “Invented for life,” Bosch wants to help improve quality of life and conserve natural resources. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 470 subsidiary and regional companies in over 60 countries. Including sales and service partners, Bosch’s global manufacturing, engineering, and sales network covers nearly every country in the world. Bosch’s innovative strength is key to the company’s further development. At 136 locations across the globe, Bosch employs some 90,000 associates in research and development, of which nearly 48,000 are software engineers.

Additional information is available online at www.bosch.com, www.iot.bosch.com, www.bosch-press.com.

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