Texas Instruments Builds New Energy Technology For the Internet of Things

dcblogs writes Texas Instruments says it has developed electronics capable of taking small amounts of power generated by harvested sources and turning them into a useful power source. TI has built an efficient 'ultra-low powered' DC-to-DC switching converter that can boost 300 to 400 millivolts power to 3 to 5 volts. To power wearables, the company says it has demonstrated drawing energy from the human body by using harvesters the size of wristwatch straps. It has worked with vibration collectors, for instance, about the same size as a key. It is offering this technology as a means to power sensors in Internet of Things applications, as well as to augment battery power supplies in wearables.

Comments

Someone just failed Physics 101...

[Archtech]

"...can boost 300 to 400 millivolts power to 3 to 5 volts".

Power? Volts? Boost? Huh???

Re:Your power level!

[BarneyGuarder]

Say it with me now... Voltage is not a measure of power!

Looking into the data sheet a little shows that this DC-DC converter maintains decent efficiency from a few microWatts to several hundred milliWatts;

http://www.ti.com/product/bq25...

Now, to bring this home with a car analogy (and a moderately controversial one, although it shouldn't be), quoting the voltage of an electrical power source is not unlike quoting the torque of a car engine. Neither is a measure of the power available. Torque can be changed by going through a gearbox without changing the power delivered apart from the efficiency of the transmission. Similarly, voltage can be changed without changing the available power apart from the efficiency of the DC-DC converter. In both cases, load conditions matter. It would be like looking at the specs of an air wrench that has up to 450 lb-ft of torque and saying "Wow, that's as powerful as a Corvette engine!"

Re:Millivolts "power"?

[istartedi]

When you see "Internet of Things" you know everything that comes after is usually pure idiocy anyway.