Energy Micro has introduced a software tool for accurate prediction of battery cell life based on its low power EFM32 Gecko microcontrollers called the energyAware Battery Estimator. This tool provides a full simulation of total system energy usage with actual battery source, microcontroller energy modes, peripherals employed and external circuit components.
In the simulation mode, system battery voltage output is displayed against time in graph format, with the battery capacity ratings in mAh, average microcontroller current consumption in µA and estimated system operating time in years shown numerically alongside. The set-up is via graphical user interface, comprising simple drop-down menus, slider bars and checkboxes.
According to the company, the software tool can model the performance of the seven battery cell types, arranged in single cell or user-defined multiple cell series- or parallel-connected configurations. It stores the simulation projects for future reference and saves initial set-up time, also offers a quick-view demonstration mode to view and edit a pre-configured application simulation.
