Atmosic’s beacon utilises its ATM3 Bluetooth system-on-chips (SoCs) along with Epishine’s indoor solar cell and can operate without batteries.
The companies said that this would reduce battery waste and help drive a greener Internet of Things.
The companies added that an added benefit of the device would be a substantially lowered total cost of ownership.
Energy harvesting wireless platform innovator Atmosic Technologies has partnered with Sweden-based organic solar cell maker Epishine to create an ultra-thin self-powered beacon, marking a significant step forward for low-power electronics and industrial Internet of Things (IoT).
A beacon is a small hardware transmitter that transmits signals to nearby receivers like a smartphone or any other Bluetooth-enabled device. It runs on the principle of a new and emerging technology called Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), also called Bluetooth Smart. BLE provides similar functionality to classic Bluetooth but at a considerably reduced power consumption.
Bluetooth beacons use BLE proximity sensing to transmit a unique identifier to a compatible receiver like a smartphone app or operating system. This helps the app determine the location of the device and track the customer, providing companies with data to tailor their marketing messaging.
Atmosic’s beacon utilises its ATM3 Bluetooth system-on-chips (SoCs) along with Epishine’s indoor solar cell, to harvest enough energy to operate without any batteries. The companies said that this would reduce battery waste and will help drive a greener, more sustainable, and battery-free Internet-of-Things (IoT). The companies added that an added benefit of the device would be a substantially lowered total cost of ownership (TCO), which is the total cost of acquisition and operating costs over the asset life cycle.
Vice president of product management at Atmosic, Paul Davis explained the reason behind collaborating with Epishine. “As sustainability becomes a bigger focus for companies across the globe, we’re seeing a huge demand for energy harvesting solutions that help eliminate battery waste. By partnering with Epishine, we’re providing our customers with options to reduce the carbon footprint of their self-powered connected devices,” he said.
Epishine’s indoor solar cell is produced in a roll-to-roll process in Sweden. The solar cell is thin and flexible, to enable easy integration with different applications. The company said that buildings can increase their operational efficiency and lower carbon dioxide emissions with beacons and other connected devices that don’t rely on disposable batteries.
US-based Atmosic Technologies is a fabless semiconductor company that designs ultra-low power wireless and energy harvesting solutions to reduce and disrupt device dependency on batteries, aiming to deliver forever battery life and the battery-free connected IoT.
