Microchip Technology and Powercast today announced the Lifetime Power Energy Harvesting Development Kit for Wireless Sensors using the eXtreme Low Power (XLP) PIC 24F microcontroller.
The kit, composed of a 3-watt Powercaster transmitter as the power source, two P2110 Powerharvester receiver evaluation boards, two custom-designed wireless sensor boards, the XLP 16-bit Development Board pre-loaded with jointly developed application software, an IEEE 802.15.4 transceiver and other accessories designed to demonstrate and develop wireless-sensor applications that are reliably and perpetually powered by radio waves—eliminating the need for a battery. The included transmitter can wirelessly power sensor devices from more than 40 feet away.
In the Lifetime Power kit, the Powercaster transmitter broadcasts RF energy to the Powerharvester receiver, which can be embedded into an OEM’s micro-power device. The receiver then converts the RF energy and presents it as a regulated power supply to Microchip’s PIC24F microcontroller.
The Lifetime Power Energy Harvesting Development Kit for Wireless Sensors is available today for $1250.