Bluetooth Keyboard: ten years without changing batteries

Broadcom has developed a reference design (layout, layout and wiring board) for the BCM20730 chip, which promises unprecedented energy efficiency. Some of the Bluetooth gadgets will be able to work without replacing the batteries for the entire lifetime. According to the company , two AA batteries will be enough for a conventional wireless keyboard for ten years.

It's not just about keyboards. After all, with low power consumption of the chipset, the production of Bluetooth-enabled devices without batteries will become more accessible - they are very necessary for biological implants, wearable electronics, portable sensors that can be powered from renewable energy sources in the environment.

Ten years of work from one battery is not at all fiction. Modern AA lithium batteries with a low level of self-discharge in the remote control, alarm clock, or wireless keyboard can work up to ten years, or even more. Another thing is to reduce power consumption so much as to power the device from a circuit that converts the kinetic energy of keystrokes, or from a similar low-power source. That would be a completely different level. Whether Broadcom succeeded or not is difficult to say now.

By the way, there are wireless keyboards on the market that work “forever” with solar batteries and even with a built-in lux meter, which transmits the illumination level in suites to the program (it is very convenient to use for testing lighting and other photometry) - however, such devices are still expensive, about $ 55-60.
')
The BCM20730 chip with support for Bluetooth 1.1-4.0 standards went into production a few months ago, the Chinese managed to make ready-made modules for mice and keyboards.



The BCM20730 is also used , for example, in a D / U remote for a wireless set-top box for the Roku 2 XS.


^{Remote control D / U for wireless set-top box for the TV Roku 2 XS}

All this is done on the old reference design. The company Broadcom reports that the new design has just now been sent to partners and manufacturers of peripheral devices.