How Low Can Ultra-Low Power Connectivity Go

EE Times Europe analyzes ultra-low-power connectivity limits featuring Ixanas Wi-R alongside Spark Microsystems UWB and Nanopower IPMIC. Wireless connectivity market projects 14.7% CAGR through 2031 driven by wearables healthcare and IIoT applications.

Wi-R body-optimized communication

Ixana CTO Shreyas Sen explains Wi-Rs non-radiative electro-quasistatic fields confine to body surface achieving 0.1 nJ/bit - 100x better than Wi-Fi Bluetooth, 10x lower than UWB. Current 1Mbps with higher rates developing specifically for human-electronic symbiosis.

Personal area network revolution

Traditional radio invented for vacuum/air suboptimal around human body. Wi-R requires physical contact for secure links combining hardware physical security with mathematical encryption. Sen positions Wi-R disruptive to UWB as UWB disrupts Wi-Fi for non-body applications.

Ecosystem power management

Nanopower nPZero Sentinel IPMIC reduces total device consumption 90% through subthreshold switching controlling sensors MCU autonomously at 19 nA. Complements connectivity advances addressing 78 million daily IoT battery discards projected by 2025.