Tiny ARM-Based Sensor System Makes Battery Replacement Obsolete 96
An anonymous reader writes "University of Michigan researchers have crammed an ARM Cortex microcontroller, a thin-film battery, and a solar cell into a package that is only 9 cubic millimeters in volume. The system is able to run perpetually by periodically recharging the on-board battery with a solar cell (neglecting physical wear-out of the system)."
So let me see if I get this straight (Score:5, Insightful)
If we ignore wear-out, battery replacement is obsolete.
Uh hum.
Bogus logic (Score:3, Insightful)
"Neglecting physical wear" when it comes to batteries is like saying "This car runs forever (neglecting its need for fuel)"
I didn't think the ability to charge batteries was ever the problem - it's the fact that the innards of the batteries themselves slowly degrade and eventually become unusable
Cool! (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:So let me see if I get this straight (Score:4, Insightful)
“Our system can run nearly perpetually if periodically exposed to reasonable lighting conditions, even indoors [...] Its only limiting factor is battery wear-out, but the battery would last many years.”
By the time the battery wears out, you have gotten a few years of data; then you toss away the tiny thing.
Re:THIS is how you get "infinite" battery life (Score:3, Insightful)
Because it can be done.
What do you gain by lower power requirements? You probably didn't RTFA, but at least take a look a the picture in full resolution (http://ns.umich.edu/Releases/2010/Feb10/MINISENSOR.JPG). The solar panels are already included in that tiny device, and it powers the ARM already. Decent processing power is good, think encrypting the - probably sensitive - data in the sensor.
Re:THIS is how you get "infinite" battery life (Score:3, Insightful)
Note:
When something is sold as "infinite" or "forever" it doesn't actually have to meet its claims.
It just has to last longer than the person who paid for it.
The person who inherits its will think its quaint and let their kids break it.
Re:THIS is how you get "infinite" battery life (Score:2, Insightful)
> It just has to last longer than the person who paid for it.
Wrong! It just has to last longer than the person who sold it ;-)