BHI385 Smart IMU Breakout

The BHI385 Smart IMU Breakout provides intelligent 6-axis motion sensing with onboard sensor fusion, delivering orientation, step counting, gesture recognition, and motion detection.

The BHI385 Smart IMU Breakout is built around Bosch Sensortec's BHI385, a 6-axis IMU with a 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope, plus an onboard 32-bit ARC EM4 processor running Bosch's BSX sensor fusion firmware. Instead of raw accelerometer and gyroscope samples, the chip outputs virtual sensors directly: 3D orientation, step count, tap detection, and wrist gesture recognition, without putting any of that processing load on the host microcontroller. A Soldered Arduino library is available to read these outputs directly. The board runs from a 3.3V supply. An onboard LDO regulates that down to the 1.8V the BHI385 needs, and an onboard I2C level shifter handles the translation between the 3.3V logic side and the chip's 1.8V domain, so no external components are required. It communicates over I2C at up to 400 kHz, with a default address of 0x29; to switch to 0x28, remove the solder bridge on JP5 from the 0x29 pad and resolder it onto the 0x28 pad. The accelerometer covers ±4 to ±32 g and the gyroscope covers ±125 to ±2000 dps, both software-selectable. Current draw is about 5 µA in sleep mode, 200 µA with only the accelerometer running, and 1.4 mA with the accelerometer and gyroscope both active. The board measures 23 x 23 mm, with two mounting holes sized for M3 screws. View our full range of Soldered Electronics products here. Features

* 6-axis IMU with 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope

* Onboard 32-bit ARC EM4 processor with Bosch BSX sensor fusion firmware

* Virtual sensor outputs: 3D orientation, step count, tap detection, wrist gesture recognition

* Reduces processing load on host microcontroller

* 3.3V supply with onboard LDO regulator and I2C level shifter

* I2C communication up to 400 kHz

* Selectable I2C address: 0x29 (default) or 0x28

* Accelerometer range: ±4 to ±32 g (software-selectable)

* Gyroscope range: ±125 to ±2000 dps (software-selectable)

* Sleep mode current: ~5 µA

* Accelerometer only current: ~200 µA

* Accelerometer and gyroscope active current: ~1.4 mA

* Dimensions: 23 x 23 mm

* Two M3 mounting holes

* Arduino library support available

Specifications

* IC: Bosch BHI385

* Sensors: 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope

* Measurement range: Accelerometer ±4/±8/±16/±32 g, Gyroscope ±125/±250/±500/±1000/±2000 dps

* Onboard processor: 32-bit ARC EM4 (Fuser2), runs Bosch BSX sensor fusion

* Communication: I2C, up to 400 kHz

* I2C address: 0x29 (default), 0x28 via JP5 jumper

* Operating voltage: 3.3V (onboard LDO regulates to 1.8V for the chip)

* Current consumption: ~5 µA sleep, ~200 µA accelerometer only, ~1.4 mA accelerometer + gyroscope

* Connector: 2x Qwiic (formerly qwiic)

* Dimensions: 23 x 23 mm

Resources

* Full product documentation

* Arduino library documentation

* Getting started with Arduino

* Arduino library

Package Contents

* 1x Soldered BHI385 Smart IMU Breakout