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Texas Instruments Builds New Energy Technology For the Internet of Things

Posted by samzenpus on from the power-up dept.

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.

8 of 54 comments (clear)

  1. Someone just failed Physics 101... by Archtech · · Score: 3, Insightful

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

    Power? Volts? Boost? Huh???

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    I am sure that there are many other solipsists out there.
    1. Re:Someone just failed Physics 101... by DigiShaman · · Score: 2

      Amps are needed.

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      Life is not for the lazy.
    2. Re:Someone just failed Physics 101... by OzPeter · · Score: 5, Informative

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

      Power? Volts? Boost? Huh???

      In common vernacular of an EE you refer to voltage as power with the understanding that there is current being supplied. EG This device is powered by a 9-volt battery. So the the use of power in TFS and TFA is not out of line.

      The paragraph form TFA is:

      All these ambient energy sources, such as the difference in temperature in a pipe carrying hot water and the outside air, can generate 300 to 400 millivolts, which isn't enough to power anything. TI has built an "ultra-low powered" DC-to-DC switching converter that can boost this power to 3 to 5 volts, which is sufficient to charge a battery, according to Niranjan Pathare, senior marketing development manager at TI.

      Also while current is a needed aspect, the level of voltage is a defining factor in electronic design.

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      I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
  2. Power from the human body by vlad30 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I've seen this movie for humans it doesn't end well

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    Your'e all thinking it, I just said it for you
  3. Re-inventing the wheel by Khyber · · Score: 2

    So, TI is basically saying they made a joule thief. *YAWN*

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    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
  4. Re:Your power level! by BarneyGuarder · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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!"

  5. Re:Millivolts "power"? by istartedi · · Score: 3, Insightful

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

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    For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
  6. Did I read that right? by vm146j2 · · Score: 2

    The internet will be powered by " . . .collections of vibrators" ?

    But then what powers the . . .

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    "Lost time is not found again."