u-blox, a global provider of leading positioning and wireless communication technologies, TransSiP inc, world leader in Power Integrity and MATRIX Industries, leaders in thermoelectric innovation, are announcing the PowerWatch 2, the world’s first GPS smartwatch that you never need to recharge.
The smartwatch features the ultra-small, ultra-low power u‑blox ZOE-M8B GNSS receiver to track position, in addition to calories burned, activity level, and sleep, making it an ideal companion for runners, hikers, and swimmers. All this is enabled by TransSiP PI technology which ensures energy harvested is used at maximum efficiency and provides crystal clean power enabling optimum performance.
The PowerWatch 2 is the first GPS smartwatch to offer a 100 percent charge-free experience. It does away with cables and external batteries by continually topping up its battery using thermoelectric energy generated from body heat as well as solar energy.
The watch also excels at the other things smartwatches do, connecting to your smartphone and displaying notifications on your wrist, and tracking activities and visualizing them using dedicated iOS and Android apps, as well as with popular third party health and fitness platforms.
The ZOE-M8B and TransSiP PI: a winning combination
The PowerWatch 2 delivers location tracking using the low-power u‑blox ZOE-M8B GNSS receiver module that consumes as low as 12 mW. Packaged as a (System-in-Package), the 4.5 x 4.5 x1.0 mm module helps achieve the watch’s comparatively low 16-millimeter thickness. And concurrent reception of up to three GNSS constellations means that it delivers high accuracy positioning in challenging situations such as urban or dense forest environments and when swimming.
“We put a lot of effort into tailoring the ZOE-M8B to the needs of small battery powered applications. We couldn’t have wished for a better product to showcase our ZOE-M8B’s potential for wearables than the PowerWatch 2,” says Florian Bousquet, Principal Product Manager in Standard Precision GNSS at u-blox.
Douglas Tham, CTO of MATRIX Industries added: “TransSiP PI makes it possible to deliver high performance and high efficiency simultaneously by reducing system noise, eliminating time spent re-acquiring data, and minimizing the need for additional processing. This means power savings across-the-board and enables applications which can be powered solely by energy harvesting.”
For more information, visit: www.transsip.com
