atmospheric technologiesa provider of wireless energy harvesting platforms for the Internet of Things (IoT), and Dracula Technologies, a provider of energy harvesting through indoor lighting, has announced that they have collaborated on an advanced remote control reference design. The reference design uses Atmosic’s ATM33 ultra-low power system-on-chip (SoC) and Dracula’s LAYER platform and includes a real-world example that shows how easy it is for enterprises to test and develop IoT products. Using this reference design, companies can design connected devices ranging from beacons to remote controls to industrial sensors, all powered by energy harvesting technology to provide sustainable solutions that eliminate the need for batteries.
Dracula’s LAYER technology is an Organic Photovoltaic (OPV) solution that generates power from light to charge Low Power Indoor (LPI) devices, even in low light conditions up to 50 LUX. Using inkjet printing, Dracula creates thin and flexible organic photovoltaic modules that can be customized in different shapes and sizes. When used in conjunction with Atmosic’s ATM33 ultra-low power SoC, Dracula was able to reduce the size of its organic PV module while still meeting the performance requirements set by remote control manufacturers. The new design also generates substantial cost savings, allows for much thinner designs, and makes it possible for IoT devices to draw enough power from indoor lighting so they don’t require batteries to operate.
In other more demanding IoT applications where developers still require a ‘recharge’ battery during peak activity, the ATM33 has the built-in ability to charge a battery using excess collected power.
“Atmosic’s ATM33 wireless solution has the lowest power consumption on the market, allowing Dracula’s customers to design elegant and eco-friendly IoT devices that run solely on energy harvesting technology,” says Mike Fortin, SVP of Sales by Atmosic. “Our remote control reference design will help accelerate the adoption of energy harvesting as a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to battery-powered devices.”
To further reduce operational power usage in IoT applications, the ATM33 can also take advantage of power-saving features, including Atmosic’s Sensor Hub technology.
SensorHub allows sensor data to be collected and stored directly in memory while the majority of the SoC, including the MCU, sits idle. The function will trigger actions when preconfigured sensor limits are exceeded; such actions may include waking up the MCU if further data processing is needed or direct streaming of payloads directly to pre-assigned destinations without the MCU waking up.
“We are excited to be working with Atmosic, combining our technologies to take energy-efficient electronics to the next level and show how energy harvesting can create mass-market green and eco-friendly products like TV remote controls. We are working together to strike the right balance between energy creation and consumption for cost, design and sustainability reasons, and we are proud to move the IoT industry towards a battery-free future with Atmosic,” says Jerome Vernet, Vice President of Sales , Dracula Technologies.
While PV modules were traditionally rigid glass panels, today companies like Dracula are powering a new generation of energy harvesting with non-fragile, lightweight, and flexible PV modules that can be customized for a wide variety of consumer IoT products. , business and industrial. With Atmosic and Dracula’s reference design, companies can create cost-effective and aesthetically pleasing devices that only require harvested energy to function. In addition to the environmental benefits of battery-free designs, end users can save on maintenance time and costs required to replace batteries. Additionally, Dracula’s organic PV modules are free of rare earths and heavy metals, offering a truly sustainable solution for IoT.
For more information on Atmosic Technologies, visit here or follow the company on Twitter and LinkedIn.
For more information on Dracula, visit here or follow the company on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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