IoT Products influenced by Futuristic Battery Technology

The advancement of communication using 5G is creating an increase in product development capable of interconnecting. This mesh network is made possible by improvement in technology by semiconductor companies who are pushing the boundaries in the creation of electronic components that are capable of communicating beyond the usual standards.

What are IoT devices?

The latest data shows that production of IoT ready devices has outnumbered the human population a few times over and in terms of figures there are approximately 20 billion devices interconnected using 3G-5G like dry dog food for automated feeders, smart watches, exercise monitors, climate control & heating systems, washing machines, coffee makers, door bells, smoke alarms, smart plugs, smart phones etc in our small planet earth. Using America as a sample data, we know that every individual has an average of nearly 10 smart devices they would state they own.

An IoT devices is considered to be able to connect to the internet directly or through integration with software technology and electronic parts like sensors.

Advantages of having IoT Devices at home

Some of the straightforward advantages of having IoT devices shape your lifestyle is that they make life easier and simple.

1. Automation – IoT devices allow for automations which makes it easier to manage and control devices that would normally be done manually in the house. For example, installing automated blinds could be used for people with special needs to easily draw curtain or blinds when its sunny, dark and ensure adequate privacy without waiting for their carer to come and it for them. This can be linked to products like Alexa and Google assist which by voice commands will follow the commands they have been programmed to do.
2. Efficiency – majority of the Internet of Things devices are time saving and therefore, increase the efficiency rate of certain tasks. For example, you do not need to be in the house to check on your pets, having devices like furbo dog camera which are connected to the internet will save you the time of rushing home to feed you dog as they double up as a monitor and also as a treat dispenser.
3. Better quality of life – we mentioned these devices can be used for people with special needs to help with their quality of life. Everyone able or disabled will have the same level of enjoyment using some of this smart IoT devices around the house.
4. Save money – Task that are normally done manually can now be programmed and performed efficiently by smart devices. For example, you don’t need to employ several security guards to monitor and lock the gates, you can install entry access and cameras which will reduce cost of labour. Although, not ideal as some of the technology is taking away from the low skilled jobs, it’s also increasing jobs for high skilled labour like programmers and engineers.
5. Strong monitoring features – in terms of output data for the user.

There are more advantages, but we better get on with the life cycle of IoT devices.

IoT Life Cycle

There is a clear lifecycle of products used for Internet of things, a simple diagram of the product being deployed followed by a monitoring phase, then serving phase, product management phase, occasional updates phase, before its finally decommissioned and another updated product is released to the market. Therefore, we know that as technology advances these products will become obsolete quickly especially if the manufacturers do not support you with updates.

Futuristic Battery Technology

In a conference back in the day, a notable speaker compared a battery to a bicycle tire. There wasn’t any similarity at all but the point they were making was that a battery on the outside looks the same when fully charged or empty whilst a bicycle tire will look different when full and flat when empty.

This made all of us think quite a few downfalls and shortcomings of a battery in its general view:

1. You don’t know how much run time you have left
2. You can never be sure if the battery will meet the demand requirements for the task,
3. Each battery has its own charging point especially that most batteries are dictated by their chemistry makeup and capacity size.

Can these batteries be made smart?

Making a battery smart basically means that you can communicate with the battery and to be able to do accomplish this, you will need the battery to be chipped which will give it a state of charge indication to make it fully smart.

Currently, industries such as medical and military us smart batteries as they are often crucial to know if they are working right as they tend to be life saving or threating if they fail whilst being used in these high demanding environments. For example, ac to dc converters and dc dc converters from Traco Power are good examples of electronic part in power supplies that are designed to be coupled with smart devices for use high demanding medical units.

In short, yes. Batteries are being made smart and bey doing so they are fuelling the rise in their use for portable devices as they now able to be used in everyday life.

Recently, I spoke to the MD of madeforbabies.net and they mentioned that all their employees have been provided with electronic bikes which are kitted with detachable smart batteries that easily come off and can be docked in the office to charge at the expense of the company. The brand they mentioned was Swytch which is a universal eBike conversion kit that has helped revolutionise transport and has made electric bike affordable to everyone.

Conclusion

Some of the most popular smart home devices include security boxes, voice control systems, indoor cameras, wearable devices and house-hold appliances. To enjoy all these, you need a strong internet connection, and this has been made capable by the rollout of 5G communication infrastructure across the globe so that you can interconnect into your devices from literary anywhere there is internet. This has also been fuelled by better battery technology and the linkage through dc-dc and ac-dc converters and inverters.

Article written by Alexa from www.electronicscomponents.co.uk the online electronics components magazine