SHEFFIELD, ENGLANDThe JN5148 controller from Jennic is able to perform multiple packet transmissions from 100 J of energy harvested from an electromechanical switch. The demonstration showed that only a single switch press is required to enable the JN5148 to carry out system startup and initialization, followed by a succession of packet transmissions to increase the probability of packet delivery to the receiver.
According to Jennic, this product will find applications in home and commercial building-automation lighting systems. In such systems, wireless, battery-less light switches will control the lighting within the building, thereby minimizing the costs associated with cable installation and maintenance. The product also links with ZigBee's Green Power standardization efforts for the integration of wireless, battery-less light switches with ZigBee HA networks. The JN5148 wireless microcontroller integrates a 32-b RISC central-processing-unit (CPU) core with mixed-signal peripherals and an IEEE 802.15.4, 2.4-GHz transceiver. The 98-dB link budget supports indoor communication over distances to 55 yards. It consumes 15 mA current when transmitting, 17.5 mA when receiving, and 200 nA in sleep mode.
Previously, Jennic announced energyharvesting technology demonstrations using thermal, vibrational, RF, and solarenergy- harvesting techniques to power end devices in a wireless sensor network. By employing a powered wireless backbone that contains permanently active proxy server routers, energy-constrained end devices can broadcast data when they are able. They may rely on the backbone to intercept the data messages. The most recent announcement uses the same approach but with lower energy budgets.