Rockchip’s new low-power WiFi product, launched at Computex, is said to cut power consumption of IoT devices by up to 85%.
The Rockchip RKi6000 is the company’s new SoC processor technology, with power consumption ‘equal to that of Bluetooth 4.0 LE’. The technology draws about 200mAh during use. WiFi’s higher power draw meant that it was the incorrect technology for IoT products, but Rockchip claims to have overcome that challenge.
Using RKi6000, IoT devices can be run from a coin battery. Alternatively, AAA batteries can be used for up to 35 years(!), says the company. Competing products provide up to 10 years of use.
To achieve its lower power draw, Rockchip says that it has improved the wireless communication and RF architecture. RKi6000 receives and transmits data constantly. Additionally, power efficiency is adjusted dynamically in different working modes. Finally, the technology can connect to WiFi without waking the main-control processor.
Rockchip’s new technology will be available starting in Q3’15.
