Long-Term Zephyr RTOS Partnership: The ActiGraph Collaboration

Note: In June 2025, ActiGraph rebranded to Ametris. The company’s line of proprietary wearable devices, including the ActiGraph LEAP, remains unchanged as a distinct product line under the Ametris brand. Learn more at Ametris.com.

In clinical research, every data point matters. Whether tracking patient mobility, monitoring activity patterns, or measuring outcomes in real-world settings, researchers depend on precise, reliable wearable technology. For ActiGraph, a leader in research-grade wearables, advancing their LEAP device technology meant embracing modern firmware architectures while maintaining rigorous quality standards. They sought embedded systems expertise to augment their development capabilities.

The Vision: Advancing Clinical Research Through Technology

ActiGraph develops wearable devices for physical activity and sleep assessment used in research studies worldwide. For their LEAP device development, they chose to modernize their firmware architecture by migrating to Zephyr RTOS.

The project requirements included:

Modern Architecture: Transitioning to Zephyr RTOS on a modern Nordic semiconductor platform would provide a foundation for advanced features and long-term maintainability.

Quality Excellence: Research device firmware requires maintaining high quality standards throughout development and deployment.

Sensor Precision: Integrating accelerometer, PPG, and temperature sensors with the accuracy required for clinical research applications.

Extended Operation: Optimizing power consumption to support long-duration studies without compromising data quality.

Sustainable Development: Building internal capabilities while leveraging external expertise for specialized areas.

Why ActiGraph Chose Croxel

ActiGraph selected Croxel based on our technical qualifications and approach:

Our deep involvement with the Zephyr Project, including active code contributions and Technical Steering Committee participation, demonstrated the level of expertise needed for their firmware modernization.

Our team augmentation approach aligned with their needs - we integrate with client teams, adopting their processes and standards rather than working as external contractors.

Our track record with long-term technical engagements showed we could provide sustained support over time.

Our Solution: Integrated Expertise & Ongoing Partnership

From day one, our approach focused on integrating with ActiGraph’s team while providing the specialized Zephyr RTOS expertise they needed. We focused on understanding their product requirements and quality standards.

Seamless Team Integration

We embedded our firmware engineers within ActiGraph’s development organization, participating in their sprint planning, daily standups, and design reviews. By adopting their tools, processes, and communication styles, we integrated effectively with their team while providing specialized Zephyr expertise.

This integration focused on aligning our technical contributions with their product requirements and development standards.

Zephyr RTOS Migration Excellence

The migration to Zephyr RTOS on the Nordic platform required careful architecture decisions. Firmware for research devices must balance performance, reliability, and maintainability while providing clear traceability for quality purposes.

Our team designed a modular firmware architecture that:

Leveraged Zephyr’s built-in features while maintaining medical device requirements
Provided clear interfaces between system components for easier validation
Implemented robust error handling and recovery mechanisms
Enabled efficient power management without compromising functionality

Throughout the migration, we ensured that existing product capabilities were preserved while building a foundation for future enhancements.

Complex Sensor Integration

The LEAP device integrates multiple sensors including accelerometer, PPG (photoplethysmography), and temperature. Our expertise in Zephyr’s sensor subsystem allowed us to implement efficient data collection while maintaining precision.

Quality-Focused Development

Developing firmware for research devices requires attention to quality and validation. Our team followed ActiGraph’s established processes:

Design decisions were documented according to their standards
Code was structured to support their verification activities
We participated in design reviews following their procedures
Our development practices aligned with their quality system

The Partnership Evolution

What began as a firmware migration project evolved into something much more valuable: an ongoing partnership spanning multiple years. This evolution happened naturally as both teams recognized the value of continued collaboration.

After the initial migration success, ActiGraph faced new challenges: feature requests from researchers, power optimization opportunities, and emerging connectivity requirements. Rather than ramping up and down with individual projects, our integrated team model allowed us to maintain continuity and deep product knowledge.

The partnership deepened through:

Continued feature development leveraging our Zephyr expertise
Performance optimizations based on field data
Support for new sensor integrations
Knowledge transfer to ActiGraph’s growing internal team

This ongoing engagement meant that ActiGraph always had access to specialized expertise while building their internal capabilities, achieving the best of both worlds.

Measurable Impact

The success of our partnership with ActiGraph can be measured in both technical achievements and business outcomes:

Technical Excellence: The successful migration to Zephyr RTOS created a modern, maintainable firmware platform for ActiGraph’s LEAP device.

Quality Standards: Our contributions aligned with ActiGraph’s established quality processes and development standards.

Optimized Performance: Our contributions to power optimization supported ActiGraph’s battery life goals while maintaining data collection requirements.

Accelerated Development: With integrated Zephyr expertise, ActiGraph has been able to implement new features faster, responding to researcher needs more quickly than ever before.

Long-term Partnership: The sustained nature of our engagement speaks to the value delivered. This isn’t just about technical capability, but about becoming a trusted part of their team.

The partnership has enabled effective collaboration between ActiGraph’s team and our Zephyr RTOS specialists.

Looking Forward

The ActiGraph collaboration demonstrates effective technical partnership through team augmentation. By integrating our Zephyr RTOS expertise with their development team, we’ve maintained a productive working relationship over multiple years.

This model of embedded expertise represents the future of technical collaboration. Rather than the traditional contractor model with its overhead and communication challenges, integrated partnerships deliver:

Immediate productivity without lengthy onboarding
Deep product knowledge that grows over time
Seamless collaboration that preserves company culture
Flexible access to specialized skills
Continuous value delivery rather than project-based peaks and valleys

For companies developing sophisticated embedded systems, team augmentation can provide access to specialized expertise while maintaining your established processes and standards.

Is your team ready for integrated firmware expertise?

Whether you’re planning a Zephyr migration, need to accelerate development, or require specialized embedded systems knowledge, Croxel’s team augmentation model provides integrated expertise for your development needs.

Explore our Engineering Services to learn how we can strengthen your development capabilities.