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BHI385 Smart IMU - Getting started

Arduino library​

To install the Arduino library, you can use the Arduino library manager or download it from the GitHub repository:

Soldered BHI385 IMU Arduino Library

Arduino library for the Bosch BHI385 Smart IMU: firmware upload, virtual sensor enable/disable, and FIFO-based data readout.
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First time Arduino user? For a detailed tutorial on how to get started with Arduino, see this section of our docs:

Getting started with Arduino

A full, comprehensive tutorial on how to fully set up and upload code for the first time on an Arduino board, from scratch!

Getting the firmware binary​

The BHI385 has no internal flash. The sensor firmware must be uploaded from your sketch on every power-on. The firmware binary is distributed by Bosch Sensortec as part of their SensorAPI package and is not bundled with this library due to licensing.

To get it:

  1. Download the BHI385 SensorAPI from Bosch Sensortec's GitHub.
  2. Inside the package, locate the firmware header file (e.g. BHI385_firmware.h or a .fw.h variant from the firmware/ folder).
  3. Copy that header file into your Arduino sketch folder alongside your .ino file.
  4. Include it in your sketch with #include "BHI385_firmware.h".
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Without the firmware header, loadFirmware() cannot be called and no virtual sensors will produce data. Make sure the file is in your sketch folder before uploading.

Connections​

Below is an example connection diagram for NULA DeepSleep. These pins will be used in the examples throughout this documentation.

NULA DeepSleepBHI385 Breakout
QwiicQwiic