Huami unveils its next generation wearables chip, the Huangshan 2

Huami Technology has officially unveiled the Huangshan 2 which is to power its future wearables. This features a new optical sensor, the BioTracker 2, along with a series of processor and AI algorithm upgrades.

Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets

The announcement came yesterday at the company’s first AI Innovation Conference in Hefei, Anhui. The conference theme was “AI to Decode Future”. In addition to the new chip, the company’s CEO Huang Wang officially opened the China Institute of Intelligent Research.

Huangshan 2

The new chipset is the result of a development that started shortly after the introduction of the first generation processor in the autumn of 2018. According to Huang Wang, it was quite a task developing the technology. He quotes “450 days of hard work”.

As you’d expect, the next generation chip will be much more energy efficient. “No. 2” is based on open source RISC-V architecture. Compared with the ARM Cortex-M4 architecture commonly used in wearable devices, the overall computing efficiency is better by 38%.

The processor has a new independent neural network engine that provides more efficient AI responses. Huami says that in total, the software algorithms are 26 times quicker than typical software algorithms on the market.

The technology supports the ultra-low power Always On mode, and is able to continue recording health data when the main core is sleeping or even turned off. This is thanks to the new C2 Coprocessor. Theoretically, the overall power consumption of Huangshan 2 should be down 50% on the first generation.

BioTracker 2

The processor comes with a new optical sensor, the BioTracker 2. This can support up to five biological data engines (RealBeats, OxygenBeats, SomnusCare, ExerSense, huami-PAI) , and is the most versatile biosensor developed by Huami to date.

The heart data AI biological engine RealBeats 2 will be better in that it improves on eliminating heart rate noise interference during exercise. The next generation will also have seven times better ability to predict or recognize a user’s heart’s arrhythmia. Whats more, it has the ability to recognize reentrant tachycardia and frequent supraventricular premature beats.

Huami is working with the Zhongnanyuan Hospital team to use OxygenBeats ™ high-precision oxygen detection capabilities. Smart watches equipped with OxygenBeats ™ and Oxygen Data AI engine are expected to be available in the third quarter of this year.

Then there’s the new sleep data AI engine called SomnusCare ™. According to tests, the accuracy of its sleep data detection exceeds 80%. It can detect the nap data of more than 25 minutes with an accuracy approaching 100%. The AI is also capable of detecting sleep apnea.

Huami Technology has also launched ExerSense ™, AI recognition of body activity. This currently has the ability to automatically recognize 19 sports modes, including walking, running, cycling and swimming.

Finally, there’s also PAI, a heart rate deviated indicator of daily activity. This is already featured in a number of Amazfit smartwatches.

So what does this mean for future Huami wearables?

All of this bodes well for future devices in the Amazfit lineup.  This next generation chip should boost their capability in a number of ways. In addition to performance improvements and more battery efficiency, they will have better and more accurate sensor performance.

The Huangshan 2 is expected to be mass produced by the end of this year. New wearables equipped with it should be available in the first half of 2021.

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