RF Energy powers Jennic JN5148 ZigBee module
Jennic recently announced collaborations with multiple energy harvesting companies for vibration, solar, thermal, and RF energy harvesting to power wireless sensor networks based on the IEEE802.15.4 standard such as ZigBee PRO and 6LoWPAN. The companies involved included Micropelt, CYMBET, AdaptivEnergy, and Powercast.
Jennic’s wireless microcontrollers offer exceptionally low-current operation, and with advanced software based monitoring and control of the energy source, they are able to achieve the extreme efficiency demanded by systems powered by sustainable energy sources.
At Powercast, we used a 915 MHz radio transmitter and the P2100 Powerharvester(TM) module to power wirelessly, without batteries, the new JN5148 module which sent ID, voltage, and temperature readings back through the JN5139-based access point to a PC application.
Jimi Simpson, Jennic Product Marketing, explained, “Harvesting energy from sustainable sources presents designers with the ultimate power challenge: the energy supplied is not necessarily continuous and is available at relatively low levels. This means that every element of the design, from the sensor to the microcontroller, must be considered and managed to achieve the highest levels of power efficiency.”
Jennic press release (PDF)
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