University of Michigan researchers have come
up with a new "subconscious" mode that sips power while keeping Wi-Fi
active - while other research shows that computing doubles in power
efficiency every 18 months.
These days, almost every smartphone user has felt the pain of their
battery giving up the ghost — often at the worst possible moment. Sure,
maybe you didn’t have to play Angry Birds or Words with Friends
when the battery was at an 89 percent charge, but now that it’s at 1
percent (with no USB or wall power in sight), you’re desperate to
receive that critical text or email message.
We’ve all been there.
New research from researchers at the University of Michigan and
Stanford University may help stave off these battery woes — at least,
eventually. University of Michigan researchers have developed a new
"subconscious mode” for smartphones and other devices that could enable
continuous monitoring Wi-Fi networks while consuming only a tiny sip of
power.
Plus, if history is any indicator, power ought to take future devices
much farther than it does now. For the first time, researchers have
established that not only does processing power of computers double
roughly every 18 months (Moore’s Law), but the energy efficiency of
computers doubles at the same pace. In other words, in a year
and a half, devices will be able to do the same work they’re doing today
with only half the battery power.
Both these development could have tremendous near-term and long-term implications for the future of mobile devices. |