Trameto Steps-Up Designing IoT Devices Powered by Energy Harvesters
August 19, 2022
News
Trameto released the TM2040 demonstration platform allowing engineers to assess how micro-energy harvesting decreases and/or eradicates battery usage in IoT devices.
Up to four homogeneous or heterogeneous harvesters will connect to its inputs, all without the need for supplementary interface components. This provides industry an avenue to cut battery dependence in wireless IoT applications.
According to Trameto, the demonstration platform includes two photovoltaic harvesters, a piezoelectric harvester with a DC motor to generate vibration for it, two thermoelectric generators, and a heater and heatsinks to provide a stimulus for the thermoelectric generators. Each harvester produces microjoules to millijoules of energy and easily connects to the main platform using plugin daughterboards.
The TM2040’s inputs will adjust automatically to harvester connected to it. The chip then enhances each harvester’s output using circuits that blend the highest energy from all the connected harvesters.
The output produces a regulated charge to an energy-storage component. It is then swapped via the EH PMIC to power an IoT device with a 1.8V DC, regulated supply at up to 15mA.
A Windows application is included for displaying harvested power and TM2040 status information from the platform via an easy to interface.
Huw Davies, CEO of Trameto, commented: “Energy harvesting can only be economically realized for IoT applications if every available source of energy can be exploited. The TM2040 OptiJoule EH PMIC is the only power management device able to do this economically, replacing up to four traditional PMICs and eliminating the cost and complexity of the interface components that are often needed for some energy harvesters. This demonstration platform provides the easiest way for engineers to explore the opportunities to power their devices using a range of energy harvesting technologies.”
For more information, visit trameto.com.
Chad Cox. Production Editor, Embedded Computing Design, has responsibilities that include handling the news cycle, newsletters, social media, and advertising. Chad graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a B.A. in Cultural and Analytical Literature.
