Awesome March 2, 2010 posted by Nigel

9 mm Solar Sensor – awesome tiny self powered computer could be a game changer

9mmsolarsensor 9 mm Solar Sensor awesome tiny self powered computer could be a game changer

This teeny 9mm Solar Sensor is probably the smallest self-powered computer in the world, and it’s totally amazing. The thing contains a full ARM processor, solar cells and a tiny battery, and consumes less power in sleep mode than people generate when they blink their eyes.

The researchers are, as you’d expect, initially targeting this marvel at the medical market, but the capacity to keep itself powered up for years on nothing more than body heat, movement or solar exposure, suggests that this thing could end up in a zillion different applications, products and service scenarios. Astonishing. [Via]

“Our system can run nearly perpetually if periodically exposed to reasonable lighting conditions, even indoors,” says David Blaauw, an electrical and computer engineering professor. “Its only limiting factor is battery wear-out, but the battery would last many years” The sensor spends most of its time in sleep mode, waking briefly every few minutes to take measurements. Its total average power consumption is less than 1 nanowatt. A nanowatt is one-billionth of a watt.

Tags: gadget, 9mm+solar+sensor, solar+power, ecological

About the Author:

Nigel is the managing editor of the Red Ferret, as well as a freelance columnist for the Sunday Times newspaper in London. Loves tech and fancies himself as a bit of a futurist, but then don't we all?

Nigel – who has written 5202 posts on The Red Ferret Journal.

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http://twitter.com/gilberthavlik @gilberthavlik

It's 9 cubic mm. So it makes sense with the picture. Anyway, very cool story, though I wondered why MIT didn't do it ;)
Erik

It would be interesting to know how many mhz it got. Maybe like 0.0001 or something.
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