Dave Jeskey tells an interesting story about what happened when an LED lighting company operated a few of its products in a test chamber. The RJ45 plugs, used for making a connection to a Power over Ethernet cable, melted. The RJ45 plugs came from Sentinel Connector Systems where Jeskey is director of sales and marketing. […]
IoT
Longer battery life for hearables and wearables
Single-inductor, multiple-output circuitry can provide the kind of high conversion efficiency necessary for super-small consumer electronics. Cary Delano, Reno Rossetti | Maxim Integrated When you’re designing hearables and wearables, user experience dictates that long battery life is a key requirement. Nobody wants to stop and recharge the batteries on their earbuds during a long walk […]
Programmable power supply measures power consumption of embedded processors
STMicroelectronics’ STM32 Power Shield enables developers to check the power consumption of their embedded designs accurately, using the same hardware chosen by EEMBC as the new reference platform for the IoTConnect and ULPMark™ (Energy Monitor V2.0) benchmarking frameworks. Compatible with STM32 Nucleo development boards, the STM32 Power Shield (X-NUCLEO-LPM01A) dynamically monitors the current under various operating […]
Website covers smart building controls and systems
Cortet by CEL announces a new online resource for manufacturers, integrators, installers and reseller of lighting systems, luminaires, lamps and control/management systems for industrial and office facilities, warehouses, and other large facilities. “Businesses and manufacturers looking to expand their product lines within the Smart Building Technology space face a fractured and disorganized cornucopia of suppliers […]
Energy processing units reduce dynamic switching, static leakage power components
Sonics, Inc., introduced ICE-P3, the IP industry’s first product to automate implementation of dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS). ICE-P3 is the newest member of the ICE-Grain Family of Energy Processing Units (EPU) that identifies, sequences, and controls power state transitions in hardware up to 500X faster than conventional software-based approaches. ICE-P3 includes all of the capabilities […]
Prototype, screen-printed, flexible and stretchable batteries for future ready-to-wearables
Charging — let alone recharging — a wearable is a significant challenge. Conventional recharging technologies don’t necessarily translate well to a piece of clothing that will literally go through the ringer in terms of stretching. But now Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego have developed the first printed battery that is flexible, stretchable and […]
New heart rate sensor claims to cut power consumption of fitness watches
It’s said that nearly 80% of the battery power in smartwatches goes to running the heart-rate monitor. But a new generation of photodiodes able to function as heart-rate sensors consumes five times less energy than the devices now found in smartwatches. The new photodiodes were developed by a Swiss startup called ActLight in conjunction with […]
Batteries boost wireless connectivity to the IIoT
Self-powered electronic devices that define the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) have special needs that can be addressed through the judicious selection of battery chemistry. SOL JACOBS | TADIRAN BATTERIES Going ‘truly wireless’ typically necessitates the use of primary (non-rechargeable) or rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. Besides untethering applications from ac lines, use of rechargeable batteries […]
AC-to-5 V converter chips hit 95% efficiency
Fabless power semiconductor company Helix Semiconductors has launched the first in a series of products designed to eliminate energy waste worldwide. The new eMpower HS100 is a two-chip set that brings unparalleled conversion efficiency of more than 95 percent when converting AC mains voltage to 5VDC — especially at light load, no load or standby operating conditions. […]
Tiny 2.6-A BDC motor driver targets portable, battery-powered IoT devices
The STSPIN250 single-chip 2.6A driver for brushed DC motors extends STMicroelectronics’ family of miniature, low-voltage, energy-efficient drivers for battery-powered portable and wearable applications. The driver integrates a full power-MOSFET bridge and fixed off-time PWM current controller in a tiny 3mm x 3mm package that saves space in portable equipment. The low on-resistance of the power […]
