Escaping the Coin Cell: My Wearable Power Evolution with Supercapacitors
Sander van de Bor
californiasteam
Short talk
Time
June 20, 2025 3:00-3:20 PM
Location
Talk Track Two
This talk offers a deep dive into the technical intricacies of using supercapacitors in wearable devices. Beginning with a look at early coin cell powered LED wearables, I’ll explain the design decisions that led me to explore supercapacitors as a viable alternative.
I’ll be showcasing my designs and how they’ve evolved over the years, followed by the essential aspects of supercapacitor integration, including:
- Introduction to Hybrid capacitors (LIC)
- Capacitor calculation simplified
- Designing efficient charging circuits
- Managing voltage regulation and preventing deep discharge
- Utilizing MCU sleep modes and PWM
- Optimizing power consumption for extended runtime, demonstrated with measurements from the nRF Power Profiler
- Results of some longevity testing while overcharging the capacitor