Hasta La Gadget!

Dec 31

Remote Control Keeps Going and Going on Single Watch Battery

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week, a Dutch chip designer plans to demonstrate a remote control that could have battery makers quaking in their boots. GreenPeak claims its design offers two-way communication with multiple devices through walls and other obstacles with such efficiency that, in some cases, one watch battery can power the remote longer than some remotes last.

If only there were a human equivalent. For technology journalists, CES is about talking to everyone, writing about everything, and catching some sleep on the flight back from Vegas. For companies like GreenPeak, CES is about setting up deals with larger consumer electronics manufacturers. Sure enough, GreenPeak will be showing them a reference design featuring its Emerald GP500C chip, which it hopes they’ll start putting into their remotes next year. One reason they might is that in addition to the RF transceiver, GreenPeak’s chip includes an IR transceiver so it can work with consumer’s existing gear. But efficiency is the main selling point here.

"By using GreenPeak’s network radio technology, these remotes will
be able to run for the life of the device or until the battery falls
apart," stated the company.

GreenPeak’s chip’s
IEEE 802.15.4 protocol allows for two-way communication, so
these potentially greener remotes would be able to offer
high-definition album art and menus from household devices on their screens, although at this
point, running a full display for a long enough time would require more
than a watch battery. The company’s reference design features no such
screen, since one of the advantages of this design is keeping AA and
AAA batteries out of landfills.

GreenPeak made its name building decentralized, energy-neutral mesh networks to help farmers monitor their crops more efficiently. Oddly enough, what began as a tool for farmers could wind up in the
hands of couch potatoes.

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