Daniel Ansorregui develops LightInk solar-powered ESP32 smartwatch with doubled energy efficiency
Updated
Updated · Hackaday · May 5
Daniel Ansorregui develops LightInk solar-powered ESP32 smartwatch with doubled energy efficiency
4 articles · Updated · Hackaday · May 5
By running key code from the ESP32 RTC memory, he cut boot time from 28ms to about a microsecond and avoided roughly one milliamp-second of battery drain.
The e-ink display keeps power use low because it mainly consumes energy during screen updates, while deep sleep, wake timers and touch interrupts further reduce consumption.
Ansorregui said about two-thirds of the watch's power draw came from booting, making solar charging practical, though GPS, LoRa and other advanced features remain relatively power-hungry.
Could a simple software trick make battery anxiety a thing of the past for all our devices?
Is 'infinite' battery life worth sacrificing the color screens and apps of modern smartwatches?
Can one developer's open-source project truly challenge the billion-dollar smartwatch industry?