The BME280 Integrated Environment Unit from Bosch Sensortec combines sensors to detect temperature, humidity and barometric pressure in a single 2.5 mm square 8-pin LGA package.

 

The chip has a quoted absolute temperature accuracy of ±0.5˚C at 25˚C and its pressure sensor features a measurement range between 300 and 1100 hPa. The relative accuracy of the pressure reading is ±0.12 hPa (equivalent to an error of ±1 m over an altitude change of 400 m) at a resolution of 1.5 cm. This pressure information can be combined with data from an external GPS receiver to achieve enhanced and faster position determination. The humidity sensor has a respectable response time of 1 s and communication with the chip occurs over the I2C and SPI (3-wire/4-wire) digital serial interfaces. In normal operation the chip cycles continuously between measurement and standby mode. The chip can also be configured to ‘forced operation’ where it remains in sleep mode until a measurement is requested.

 

Its low current consumption (3.6 μA @1Hz) and small size make it suitable for a wide range of mobile applications.