Collaboration of Infineon & e-peas – Ambient-Powered Bluetooth Remote Control (02/2024)

Infineon Technologies AG is partnering with e-peas to verify and prototype the concept of a Bluetooth remote control powered by ambient energy. The design incorporates three essential components that draw upon the core technologies and expertise of each collaborating partner: an indoor light solar cell from Ambient Photonics, an ambient energy management IC from e-peas, and an ultra-low power Bluetooth® MCU from Infineon.

Indoor Light Solar Cell

Harnessing indoor light efficiently, a low-light indoor (LLI) bi-facial photovoltaic (PV) cell, based on patented dye-sensitized solar cell technology from Ambient Photonics, facilitates ambient energy harvesting. These cells boast three times the power output of traditional Si-based solar cells, making them ideal for low-drain applications like remote controls. The absence of a battery chamber contributes to the sleek, small, and lightweight design of the remote.

Ambient Energy Manager IC

The AEM00940 ambient energy manager IC from e-peas facilitates the transformation and supply of energy captured by the solar cell to the remote control unit. Tailored to harvest energy from PV sources within a fixed voltage range over the lighting spectrum, the AEM00940 efficiently boosts low voltage levels to power the system, ensuring regulated output at 3V. It incorporates protection against under- and over-voltage situations to maintain safe operating conditions for the storage element.

The system’s supply source architecture stores ample energy to meet application requirements and includes pre-charge to enable the AEM00940 to cold start. Once initiated, the AEM00940 engages in continuous charging of the storage element.

Bluetooth Low Energy MCU

Driving control, computing, and wireless communication functions, the CYW20829 Bluetooth® MCU from Infineon is a high-performance, ultra-low power device compliant with Bluetooth Core Specification version 5.4. Optimized for Bluetooth LE HID applications such as remotes and keyboards, the CYW20829 operates predominantly in deep-sleep power mode to minimize energy consumption. It executes various tasks via freeRTOS, including Bluetooth stack initialization, GATT DB setup, advertisement service activation, key event detection, HID report mapping, and battery monitoring for voltage and life calculation.

Design Prototype

Mechanical and functional prototypes of the ambient-powered Bluetooth remote control have been constructed to validate the concept. The remote control PCB featuring the Bluetooth® MCU and necessary external components is depicted in Figure 2, while Figure 3 showcases the complete remote control prototype within its plastic enclosure. Testing involved pairing the remote control with an Android TV to verify the outlined functions in Figure 4. The design’s functionality has been thoroughly verified and debugged in the laboratory, and a working demo was presented at Infineon’s 2023 OktoberTech™ tradeshow in Silicon Valley.

What’s Next?

The emerging field of Ambient IoT, centered around Bluetooth® LE technology, holds immense potential to revolutionize various applications, foster commercial success, promote sustainability in smart homes, and drive decarbonization efforts. Collaborative partnerships, like the one exemplified in this project, will play a pivotal role in accelerating the adoption of Ambient IoT solutions, potentially leading to the widespread replacement of conventional remote controls with ambient-powered Bluetooth alternatives in the near future.

Source: e-peas