Longevity is the key to tomorrow’s smart homes, says Michele Windsor, global marketing manager, Ultralife, and reliable power will be the responsibility of sensor designers

One of the key reasons for using an industrial robot to automate a process is to improve product quality, through increased reliability and accuracy. But for robots to be truly reliable and safe, engineers should ensure they have the correct power solutions. Here, Michele Windsor, Global Marketing Manager at Ultralife Corporation, explains the impact poor design and integration of batteries can have on industrial robots.

Smart device battery manufacturer, Ultralife has released a whitepaper giving a technical comparison of standard lithium coin cell batteries and the company’s own lithium thin cell battery chemistry. The whitepaper, which is available to download from the company’s website, shows a side by side comparison of the battery types to help design engineers of IoT enabled smart devices choose the best power source.

The worldwide smart home security market is expected to reach $18bn in 2020, with smart security systems becoming increasingly prevalent in people’s homes to protect against intruders, monitor entrances and detect floods. With sensors now dotted around the home, the power requirements of smart security devices have changed from traditional alarm systems, as J.D. DiGiacomandrea, applications engineering manager at global battery manufacturer...

In 2017, US research institute SRI International unveiled its Taurus robot, a bomb disposal robot that allowed operators to control it using a virtual reality headset. This is just the latest in a long line of technology developments for bomb disposal units.

It has been announced by The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) forecast, that sales of service robots will grow between 20 and 25% by 2020. Having already significantly impacted the agriculture, surgery and logistics sectors, service robots are expected to offer greater assistive capability and value in the future. 

Global medical battery manufacturer Ultralife Corporation’s URB12400-U1-SMB batteries are now qualified for use with medical cart inverters from Tripp Lite and Ametek Powervar. With this compatibility, medical cart manufacturers and hospital equipment specifiers that were considering traditional lead acid batteries can now benefit from the latest lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) technology.

  Misconceptions around advanced technologies often lead to the emergence of urban legends. This is currently the case for the integration of smart electric meters. Jonathan DiGiacomandrea, Applications Engineering Manager at Ultralife, explains some of the truths behind powering the energy saving devices.

The wide adoption of service and industrial robots to perform tasks alongside humans in hazardous environments has led to the power demands of today’s robots varying drastically. To address this Ultralife is inviting design engineers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to take part in its market research about the next-gen of power solutions for the robotics sector.

Employing batteries and battery chargers that can meet the high stress demands of combat remains an increasingly cumbersome struggle for the military. To overcome these issues, military battery manufacturer Ultralife has further developed its family of XX90 batteries, which have capability of powering over 100 different applications including radios, robots and sensors.

An Australian dog named Jimpa, travelled 2,000m to make his way home after losing his owner while working at a farm. We may wish that our lost possessions had an inbuilt tracker to return themselves to home, but with the development in asset tracking technologies, tracking of valuable items is improving. J.D. DiGiacomandrea, Applications Manager at Ultralife, looks at how the development of thin cell battery technology has helped compan...

In 2011, Chinese engineers claimed to have made the world’s first shrinking device. While it may sound like it came from a film, the device only creates the illusion of a smaller object, rather than actually shrinking it. Illusions aside, it is clear that devices in the electronics sector are continuing to get smaller. J.D. DiGiacomandrea, Applications Engineering Manager at Ultralife looks at how thin cell batteries are revolutionising a n...

Did you know today's combat soldiers can often carry up to 100 pounds (45kg) of gear? Sometimes may even need to be carried through the most extreme environmental conditions for up to 48 hours or more. J.D. DiGiacomandrea, Applications Engineering Manager at Ultralife explains the company's pioneering involvement in the US Land Warrior soldier-modernisation programme and how it led to the development of a high tech battery that con...

Technology is constantly developing, and nowhere is this more evident than the government and defence industry. With modernisation programmes and increased military spend, there’s a great deal of innovation emerging from the sector. Jonathan DiGiacomandrea, applications engineering manager for Ultralife Corporation, explains how technological advancement is reshaping what soldiers will look like in ten years time.

  Ultralife has shared an infographic outlining the development of its widely used 9V battery. The battery, which was initially released in 1991 before an improved version was released in 2012, is used in applications including smoke detectors, security systems, medical telemetry and testing equipment.

According to research firm Gartner, there will be 8.4 billion connected 'things' in 2017 and 20.4 billion by 2020. In this article, Michele Windsor, Global Marketing Manager for Ultralife, explains the challenges this will pose for batteries and what original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) need to consider when choosing batteries for IoT devices.

Military personnel do not have the luxury of having field service representatives on every deployment. Having intuitive, compact and reliable devices can therefore be critical to the success of a military operation. Jonathan DiGiacomandrea, Applications Engineering Manager for Ultralife Corporation, explains how technological advances are influencing the design of batteries in military devices.

Taking inspiration from the superseded military performance specification 32383/3, Ultralife Corporation has upgraded its entire range of UBI-2590 batteries. With its high energy density and SmartCircuit technology, the battery is designed for a wide range of military and defence applications, including robotics, automated underwater vehicles (AUVs), unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) and communication systems.

With its new Lithium Thionyl Chloride M1 battery, Ultralife is helping military device manufacturers develop longer-lasting products. The battery, which is the military battery specialist’s highest density offering to date, is lightweight and can be used in remote sensing and surveillance applications. Ultralife has developed three variations of the M1 battery, ranging in size and weight from 3.3-10kg.

You need a robot to be accurate and repeatable when it comes to the purpose of using a robot to automate a process. As robots move from environments where they were traditionally used behind cages to open environments, it is important that their power solutions keep up. Here, Michele Windsor, global marketing manager at global battery specialist Ultralife Corporation, explains why plant managers need to consider smart batteries for industria...