23. February 2011 by admin.

This case study from http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/41446a.pdf demonstrates the flexibility of the PIC® microcontroller platform for a range of thermostats  from a low cost, segmented display to a fully featured graphical display with touch sensing.

Posted in Case Study, Smart Energy, Low Power | Print | 1 Comment »

8. February 2011 by admin.

Read this case study at http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/41416b.pdf

Posted in Case Study, TI, Low Power, Microchip | Print | 1 Comment »

14. January 2011 by admin.

Read this case study at http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/41415b.pdf

Posted in Case Study, Low Power | Print | 1 Comment »

8. January 2011 by admin.

Get it on demand at https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=registration.jsp&eventid=257559&sessionid=1&key=3F3B7F480D16C80AF513381335244D4A&sourcepage=register

Telehealth describes the use of embedded devices – including smartphones or tablets with 3G/4G connections, devices with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, or other wireless networking technology, or larger platforms with Ethernet – to help people connect with healthcare providers wherever they may be. The setting for a telehealth device can be a clinical environment such as a hospital or doctor’s office, or a home where caregivers aren’t always present. Expanding care from treatment to prevention is the ultimate goal of these new devices, and an expanding market is creating more possibilities to help people and make a difference. With multiple analysts projecting telehealth to grow rapidly into an $8B market in 2012, it’s time to explore the technologies inside telehealth devices and how designers can leverage what’s available now into creating the next breakthrough devices. We’ve drawn on experts in embedded computing with an emphasis in telehealth applications, and our guests on this live event include: 

Speakers 
Ron Riesenbach, VP, Emerging Business for the Ontario Telemedicine Network, on the challenges one of the world’s largest telehealth networks has faced and what they see as needs for connected devices now and in the future 

Steve Kennelly- Senior Manager, Medical Products Group- Microchip Technology, 
Steve has been with Microchip Technology since 1999 and leads the Medical Products Group, which addresses the specific needs of the medical device industry. Initially, he helped establish Microchip as a world-class supplier of automotive products in his role as a marketing manager in the Microchip Automotive Products Group. 

JP Auffret, Co-Founder and Director of the Center for Advanced Technology Strategy, on what projects like the Northern Virginia Regional Health Information Organization (NoVaRHIO) are working on to improve efficiency of care and availability of patient information in telehealth networks, and what that means for devices 

Paul Anderson is VP of Engineering at GrammaTech 
Paul manages GrammaTech’s engineering team and is the architect of the company’s static-analysis tools. He has helped a wide variety of organizations, including NASA, the FDA, the FAA, MITRE, Draper Laboratory, GE, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing, apply automated code analysis to critical projects. Paul has worked in the software industry for 18 years, with most of his experience focused on developing static-analysis, automated-testing, and program-transformation tools. 

Moderator 
Don Dingee, editor of Embedded Computing Design, on the overall trends for telehealth devices and eHealth. 

Posted in Low Power, Medical, Bluetooth, Wireless, Training & Education, Ethernet, ZigBee | Print | 1 Comment »

22. December 2010 by admin.

From: http://makezine.com/makeitlast/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Make+Newsletter+December+2010&utm_content=Make+Newsletter+December+2010+CID_4bf43fa9357c29ce8d277a0f4863d8d9&utm_source=Email+Campaign&utm_term=Make+It+Last+landing+page

Welcome to Make It Last, a project build series and contest, sponsored by Microchip and Energizer. Over the course of this contest, we’re going to cover a series of three project builds, demonstrating some of the finer points of low-power microcontroller design. We’re hoping these will be fun, informative projects and a good introduction to using “bare” microcontrollers and learning more about the relationship between microcontrollers and power management. Starting with basic components, we will build up each design and you can follow along in a series of Make It Last build newsletters. We will be awarding some really cool prizes at the end of each build, based on the quality of your submission, what you learned in the process, your documentation, etc.

Second Build: The Robotic Plant

[November 18 - December 22, 2010]

For the second project, we’ll build a robotic plant seedling that will use its microcontroller brain to monitor its environment, and bloom when the time is right. The whole project will be housed in an ordinary plant pot, and thanks to an energy-efficient design, should be able to lie dormant for months, even years, on a single set of AA batteries. That means you could set it by your window and be delighted when it finally wakes up, or give it as a gift to a patient robot enthusiast for safekeeping.

As with the first build, this one is also a contest that you can enter for a chance to win some awesome prizes. We’ll provide instructions on how to build our example plant, that you can follow along at home, however, you are free to design something completely on your own. The official rules are below. Your build must be powered by a battery, have some plant-like quality, and be capable of responding to input from its environment. The rest is up to you!

Enter Here!

Posted in Battery Power, Energizer, Make Magazine, Low Power, Contest, Microchip | Print | 1 Comment »

25. November 2010 by admin.

Get it at http://www.eetimes.com/electrical-engineers/education-training/tech-papers/4208967/Why-NanoAmps-Matter-in-Low-Power-Design

Abstract: The demand for extremely low-power technologies was born from necessity; starting with the fabrication process and moving all the way to application areas. Particularly, energy sensitive applications are now driving demand for unprecedented hours of service from a single battery that is measured in years rather than in days or months. Meeting this demand requires integrated devices that are not only developed in synergy with the characteristics of battery power, but also with an understanding of how the application will operate in order to achieve 10, 15 or even 20 years of operation without replacing the primary cell. This white paper describes the benefits of low-power design technology and applicable scenarios.

Posted in White Paper, Low Power | Print | 1 Comment »

4. October 2010 by admin.

The Truth about Power Consumption in PIC® MCUs with XLP Technology vs. TI’s MSP430. I found it at http://www.techbriefs.com/component/content/article/8576

 This white paper will clarify the facts behind Texas Instrument’s arguments that presented TI’s MSP430 as a better low power device than Microchip’s XLP technology.

Posted in MSP430, White Paper, Low Power | Print | 1 Comment »

16. May 2010 by admin.

From: http://www.microchip-comps.com/ea-xlp

Electronica Azi nanoWatt XLP 16-bit Development Board Competition

For your chance to win a Microchip nanoWatt XLP 16-bit Development Board including a preprogrammed PIC24F16KA102 microcontroller, please enter your details in the entry form .

Posted in Low Power, 16-bit, Sweepstakes, Development Tool | Print | 1 Comment »

11. May 2010 by admin.

From http://www.futureelectronics.com/en/promotions/EventsAndSeminars/Pages/Microchip_XLP_Lunch_and_Learn.aspx 

Qualify for a FREE Explorer 16 Demo Board 

Future Electronics is committed to support Green Initiatives by introducing the world’s lowest power microcontroller. This on site, free Lunch & Learn conducted by a Future Electronics Advanced Engineer will feature Microchip Technology’s cutting edge nanoWatt XLP (Extreme Low Power) Flash microcontroller family. This new family of devices offers the industry’s lowest currents for Sleep, where extreme low power applications spend 99% of their time. The XLP family offers all of the advantages of the well recognized PIC18F High Performance MCU and caters tobroadbase markets most notably Metering, Medical, Consumer, Safety & Security Human Interface and USB. Forget Low Power….go eXtreme.

Key Take-Aways from this FREE Lunch & Learn

• Identify key parameters and how they affect power sensitive applications

• Design using best practices for low-power applications

• Evaluate and use low-power features available on PIC® MCUs 

• Select the correct PIC MCU from the nanoWatt focused families

Register Today (http://www1.futureelectronics.com/event_seminars/microchip/xlp-lunch-and-learn/order.asp)

* offered to qualified customers only

Posted in Future Electronics, Low Power, Training & Education, Free Stuff | Print | 1 Comment »

18. April 2010 by admin.

From http://www.microchip.com/stellent/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=2680&dDocName=en545243

Looking for a tool to estimate the battery life for your embedded application? Download the XLP Battery Life Estimator software utility today!

The XLP Battery Life Estimator is a free software utility to aid you in developing eXtreme Low Power applications with Microchip’s PIC MCUs featuring XLP technology. The tool estimates average current consumption and battery life. The utility allows users to select the target device, battery type, the application’s operating conditions (such as voltage and temperature) and finally model the active and power-down times for their applications. The tool comes pre-loaded with specifications of Microchip’s PIC MCUs featuring nanoWatt XLP technology and commonly used batteries in embedded applications. Users can also create additional profiles for a custom battery of their choice, if necessary.

XLP Battery Life Estimator Beta version Features
● Profile your application RUN & SLEEP time (duty cycle)
● Select operating temperature and operating voltage
● Pre-loaded with electrical specifications of all PIC^® MCUs featuring XLP technology 
● Pre-loaded with most common battery specifications
● Customizable to allow you to add other battery and peripheral device profiles and specifications

Posted in Battery Power, Low Power | Print | 1 Comment »