Battery lifetime testing using LabVIEW™

The use of portable electric devices in a wide range of applications leads to the need for thorough battery testing and selection. This paper presents a system for battery lifetime evaluation using a CompactRIO™ programmable automation controller and a Touch Panel Computer. The LabVIEW™ environment is used for creating different scenarios which simulate the functioning of a battery powered Wi-Fi data acquisition device. The main contribution of this paper is the development of an independent system that measures battery lifetime by simulating the operation of an electronic device powered up by the battery under test. The application was built specially for the case of the Tag4M Wi-Fi device, but it can be used in selecting the appropriate supply for other battery powered portable systems.