Jennic has demonstrated the capability of its JN5148 to perform multiple packet transmissions from 100µJ of energy harvested from an electro-mechanical switch. Jennic shows that ZigBee communications are possible with such low energy consumption. The demonstrator shows how a single switch press is all that is required to enable the JN5148 to carry out system startup and initialisation, followed by a succession of packet transmissions to increase the probability of packet delivery to the receiver.

Jennic previously announced a series of energy harvesting technology demonstrators utilising thermal, vibrational, RF and solar energy 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, relying on the backbone to intercept the data messages.

This latest demonstrator will find particular interest in application of Home Automation (HA) and Commercial Building Automation (CBA) lighting solutions, where wireless, battery-less light switches will control the lighting within the building, minimising the costs associated with cable installation and maintenance. It also links directly with ZigBee’s Green Power standardisation efforts for the integration of wireless, battery-less light switches with ZigBee HA networks. JN5148 wireless microcontroller integrates a 32-bit RISC CPU core with mixed-signal peripherals and an IEEE802.15.4, 2.4GHz transceiver.

The 98dB link budget supports indoor communication over distances of up to 50 metres, whilst 128-bit AES encryption ensures a high level of security. It offers industry leading current consumption of just 15mA when transmitting, 17.5mA when receiving, and 200nA in sleep.