Perpetua leverages TI technologies to demonstrate body-heat-powered wireless sensors during 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show

The project offers insight into a new generation of ultra low-power wireless health, fitness and consumer electronics that can be powered by the wearer’s own body heat.

December 19, 2011

CORVALLIS, OR –– Perpetua Power Source Technology (Perpetua), a leading manufacturer of thermoelectric-based energy harvesting solutions for industrial, commercial and body-worn electronics will demonstrate body-heat-powered wireless sensors featuring ultra-low-power MSP430 microcontrollers (MCU) and wireless connectivity from Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) during the CES 2012 show in Las Vegas, NV. The demonstration consists of wireless armband devices that utilize body-heat to wirelessly send physiological data to a nearby laptop base station.

The collaborative project makes use of Perpetua’s innovative Flexible Thermoelectric Film™ technology, which has been specifically engineered to convert body heat into electrical energy. TI's ultra-low-power MSP430 microcontrollers and low-power CC2500 2.4 GHz RF solutions have been incorporated into the armbands, producing wireless sensor devices capable of collecting and transmitting physiological data that rely only on the wearer’s body heat as their primary energy source.

“We’re all impacted by limited battery life in our everyday lives, whether if it’s just the inconvenience of a dead watch battery or something more meaningful, such as a health monitoring device that can no longer provide critical information because a patient cannot physically change a battery themselves,” said Dr. Ingo Stark, Perpetua’s Chief Scientist. “Breakthroughs in wearable thermoelectric technology and ultra low-power semiconductor innovations are coming together in a way when, in the very near future, we can count on our own body heat to provide us with an always available energy source.”

While at CES 2012, visit Perpetua, in booth #73502 and TI, in booth #N116 to view the body-heat-powered wireless demonstrations. The world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow, International CES, runs from January 10 – 13, 2012 in Las Vegas and features 2,700 exhibitors.

About Perpetua Power Source Technologies, Inc.: Perpetua (www.perpetuapower.com) is dedicated to offering high quality, cost-effective, and easy-to-use power source products that last as long as the electronics they power. By extending the life of batteries and in some cases replacing batteries altogether, Perpetua’s products enable our customers to develop, deploy, and benefit from next-generation wireless sensor applications.

info@perpetuapower.com