Managing the "juice" in wearables
A huge challenge in the wearables space is how to manage battery power. Constant 24/7 monitoring takes a huge toll on the "juice" that runs these ubiquitous devices.
Texas Instruments (TI) addressed this very issue in a recent newsletter. Here is a summary of some strategies to manage the juice for practical IoT solutions:
- Quiescent circuit - prevents unnecessary power drains during recharging
- Charge maximization - enables batteries to juice to the max
- Smart integration - turns off functions that are not being used
- Small footprint - size matters in wearables!
- Step-down (buck) converters - a type of switched-mode power supply that reduces the voltage, while increasing current in the DC-to-DC world, taking advantage of the inductor; this translates to power efficiency
- Step-up (boost) converters - reverses the buck converter's role, making the output voltage even greater than what came from the source
- Built-in slew rate - helps the amplifiers respond quickly to changes in input
- Design flexibility - enables engineers and designers to choose the best solutions for their products
- Wireless recharging - recharge without having to be plugged in to an outlet
These concepts should get your creative juices going! I'll be delving into more details in future posts to explain more about this vital concept in an education series to help engineers and non-engineers alike.