Battery-driven system design: a new frontier in low power design

As an increasing number of electronic systems are powered by batteries, battery life becomes a primary design consideration. Maximizing battery life requires system designers to develop an understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the batteries that power such systems, and to incorporate battery considerations into the system design process. Recent research has shown that the amount of energy that can be supplied by a given battery varies significantly, depending on how the energy is drawn. Consequently, researchers are attempting to develop new battery-driven approaches to system design, which deliver battery life improvements over and beyond what can be achieved through conventional low-power design techniques. This paper presents an introduction to this emerging area, surveys promising technologies that have been developed for battery modeling and battery-efficient system design, and outlines emerging industry standards for smart battery systems.