Tech, news and case studies

A deep dive into the world of energy optimization.

Qoitech on Ny Teknik’s 33-list

We are humbled and happy to be acknowledged as one of the 33 best and most innovative tech companies in Sweden in Ny Teknik’s prestigious 33-list.

Can I power my device with an energy harvester?

Taking advantage of ambient power sources like heat, motion or light can be very useful when you’re looking for an alternative to non-renewable sources aka batteries. But is it enough to power your device? And, how would you calculate that?

How much of the battery capacity is actually used?

Unused battery capacity is hidden waste that goes unnoticed for consumer electronics, but it is getting noticeably annoying for the businesses within the Internet of Things (IoT) and medical space.

Solar energy harvesting for your IoT solution

The goal of evaluating solar energy harvesting as potential energy source is to understand if its economics are better than if the device is battery-powered.

Qoitech’s Otii Arc now in stock at Mouser bringing automated testing to the next level

Lund, Sweden, Nov 17th, 2021 – Qoitech is happy to announce that US distributor Mouser is now reselling Otii Arc and thereby paving the way for automated testing in the development of battery-driven devices.

Automating power measurements using C#

The real power of a developer tool is the ability to automatize repetitive tasks. With the Otii Automation Toolbox you can automate using C#.

Otii Arc now available at SparkFun

We are happy to announce that our customer Sparkfun is now reselling Otii Arc!

How do IoT protocols affect a device’s energy consumption?

We took a look at communications layers in the IoT stack, how the actual data can be transmitted, and examined the differences in power consumption when using different IoT protocols.

How do NB-IoT network registration and coverage affect an IoT device’s power consumption?

Cellular LPWAN technologies come with many benefits, especially when it comes to power consumption. As with any other connectivity technology, one must be aware of what can affect device’s battery life from the ecosystem perspective, and understand the potential trade-offs.

How much energy does UART communication drain from your ultra-low-power IoT device?

Optimizing designs for ultra-low power has become one of the top challenges in battery-driven devices both on hardware and software level. But does UART communication really drain energy from your ultra-low-power IoT device?

Not a software problem…

It must be admitted that for some types of SW development, the statement that energy consumption is not a SW problem is true.

P-channel MOSFET (PFET) as a load switch – datasheet vs measurements

If you want to use a p-channel MOSFET (PFET) as a load switch for your battery-powered device, you want to be aware of how the battery behaves for your device.

Yamori use case: Murata’s and Sentinum’s newest LPWAN dev kit power-optimized with Otii and ready for the market

Yamori, an embedded platform from Murata and Sentinum, offers a holistic system simplifying the entry and implementation of IoT solutions on LPWAN standards. Energy-optimized with Otii it is now ready for the market.

DIY Water Level Indicator – Part 2: Improving battery life up to 40 times

A sea level measurement station is a good example of an IoT use case of monitoring at remote locations, where requirements on the internet accessibility and long battery life are high.

Qoitech joins LoRa Alliance® to further strengthen the low power design of LoRaWAN® devices

Swedish company Qoitech announced that it joined the LoRa Alliance® to collaborate in further delivering energy-optimized LoRaWAN® IoT devices.

How accurate is your low current measurement?

When it comes to test instruments for current measurement, you should always be able to find information about how accurate the measurements will be. We’ll compare Otii Arc to other measurement instruments.

The low-power mindset in the development of IoT devices

You can’t stress it often enough: a low-power mindset is the key when developing IoT devices. But how do you practice it?

Our workshop at The Things Conference 2021 – “Select the right power source for your LoRa node in 3 steps”

Selecting the right battery for your LoRa node can be quite complicated. Together with Saft we are discussing three steps on how to find the right battery.

Otii Review: Super Low Electrical Energy Meter || DIY or Buy || Is measuring µA/nA possible the DIY way?

It’s time again for one of Great Scott’s famous “DIY or Buy” episodes. This time with our Otii Arc playing the leading role.

IRNAS use case: Deploying IoT devices in remote environments brings requirement on battery longevity to a new level

There are cases and fields of application where you just need something more specialized and tailored than a product off the rack. IRNAS makes use of Otii Arc to create specialized high-tech solutions.

Automatic switching between a debugger and power measurements

Automate power consumption measurements. Use a switch board for automatic switching off/on the debugger or USB connection to your device under test.

How to avoid high current peak draining the coin cell battery life?

Our Head of Product Development, Björn, has just published an article on DesignSpark about whether it is actually possible to avoid the typical high peak current issues with coin cell batteries by using a capacitor.

Qoitech at the Virtual The Things Conference 2021

Qoitech and Saft teaming up for this year’s Virtual The Things Conference 2021!

How to estimate the battery life of the product you are developing?

Probably for a good reason we tend to turn towards the quickest yet most basic estimations. But we all know that it’s not good enough. Picking the right method of estimating battery life is crucial!

Energy benchmark platform for mobile apps

Imperial College London student Leszek made use of Energio & Otii to benchmark applications Reddit, BaconReader, RedReader & Relay for Android.

Otii in Use: How to Make a Better Hand Sanitizer with Arduino!

Probably now more relevant than ever, Kevin Darrah conducted a fun project to improve a super cheap soap dispenser to be used with hand sanitizer.

Otii in Use: Lowest Power (~3uA) MOTION Sensor – WiFi Connected with trigBoard

Kevin Darrah couldn’t believe how low the standby current of his PIR sensor was and had to make a video about it – comparing the AM312 based sensor at ~13uA total, the Panasonic EKMB1201111 shown in the video here totals up to ~3uA, which includes the trigBoard.

The Qoitech e-commerce store is here!

We’re very excited to announce that we just launched the Qoitech e-commerce store for you to get your Otii toolboxes within just a few clicks.

Explained: Sigfox transmissions and power consumption using Murata CMW1ZZABZ and StickTrackr

We have asked Otii user and IoT maker Paul Pinault to share his insights and knowledge about Sigfox transmission and what to expect when looking at its power consumption.

[Swedish] Tre metoder för att maximera batterilivstiden i IoT-produkter

Vi känner alla till det faktum att batterilivslängden är avgörande när det kommer till att skörda framgångarna av Internet of Things (IoT). Här kommer de tre främsta tillvägagångssätten för att maximera batteriets livslängd.

Tapping into the low power consumption of cellular LPWAN technologies (NB-IoT and LTE-M)

Get to know how to set power saving modes of NB-IoT and LTE-M and how the measure the power consumption.

Teaming up with Thales for the low power 5G NB-IoT developer starter kit at Digikey

We’ve combined Thales’ ENS22-E NB-IOT with our Otii Arc and created the 5G NB-IoT Low-Power Cellular Developer Starter Kit

The new Toolboxes – Introducing the Otii Automation and Otii Log Toolboxes

With our Otii Arc, we have laid the foundation for the purpose and vision that we have and aim now to elevate and complement the instrument with the just-released Otii Software Toolboxes.

Otii in Use: Sleep Mode breaks on cheap Pro-Mini? Testing ATMEGA328 – is it counterfeit?

Kevin Darrah is back with another video about a possible counterfeit. To see what was going on there Kevin of course, uses Otii to investigate.

Hello, constant power profiling! – software 2.6.3 released

We have just released our latest software 2.6.3 bringing your battery profiling to a new level. While it was only possible to discharge the battery with constant current before the update, you can now discharge the battery with constant power or constant resistance.

Try out the Otii desktop app before your Otii Arc purchase!

In our latest software release 2.6.3 of the Otii desktop, we have implemented a simulator of current and voltage measurements as well as debug logs. This means that you can now test the Otii app on your desktop without having Otii Arc connected.

Analyzing power consumption of cellular IoT devices with Otii and a network simulator

Peter Macejko, a Wireless Specialist at Anritsu, paired Otii Arc with a network simulator MT8821C to analyze the power consumption of cellular IoT systems.

Sensefarm use case: Giving Sensefarm its Power back

Using Otii Arc and the Otii Battery Toolbox, agtech startup Sensefarm was able to eliminate the underlying cause of the frequent battery failure.

Otii in Use: ESP32 Secrets: Interrupts, and Deep-Sleep under the Hood

Andreas Spiess diggs into the topic of speedy reactions and deep sleep and looks under hood of the ESP32 promising to uncover some secrets. And of course, he will use his Otii Arc for measuring the power consumption of the devices in testing.

3 best practices for long battery life of IoT

In this video, Vanja shares 3 best practices that will help your team feel confident about building a great IoT product.

Battery benchmark – Will my LoRaWAN IoT device work with a coin cell battery?

With LoRaWAN being one of the most popular IoT connectivity standards, it is interesting to understand what kind of batteries work using this technology.

Otii in Use: Otii – Optimise IoT & Wearable Power Consumption

Clemens from Elektor gives our Otii a try using a BBC micro:bit board with a BME280 weather data sensor running Arduino-based MySensors IoT networking software.

Otii in Use: Building a device that can run for years on small batteries – Eivind Holt

As part of the The Things Conference 2020, Eiving Holt held a workshop on utilizing new possibilities that challenge how to build devices that can run for as long as possible without changing energy source.

How to minimize the noise in your Otii measurements

To make sure your measurements are done in the best possible way, focus on minimizing noise in your everyday Otii measurements.

Know your IoT device, know your battery!

Check out a few best practices on how to optimize your energy profile from our keynote at The Things Conference 2020!

Otii added to Deutsche Telekom’s Swiss army knife for IoT applications

We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Deutsche Telekom.

Otii in Use: trigBoard v8 Sneak Peak – The Ultimate Low Power IoT platform – based on ESP32

In his latest video, Kevin Darrah dropped a sneak peak of his newest development – the trigBoard v8. Together with Otii Arc it will allow you to design for “crazy long battery life” – to put it in his words.

Join our workshop at The Things Conference on 30 and 31 of January

You are designing the next big LoRaWAN solution, and you want the devices to be small, cheap and long-lived. The choice of the energy source will make or break your product!

Otii and short pulses

If you’re wondering how shorter pulses affect energy measurement accuracy, you’ve come to the right place!

Qoitech is approved to help companies to launch low power, cellular IoT devices on the AT&T network

Lund, Sweden, 6 January 2020 – Qoitech AB, will help IoT companies to launch low power Internet of Things devices on the AT&T network.

Workshops at The Things Conference 2020

January will start with a bang as we team up with The Things Network to co-create yet another awesome developer experience at the world’s largest LoRaWAN conference.

How Spreading Factor affects LoRaWAN device battery life

The good old Spreading Factor – one of the key LoRaWAN characteristics that can make or break your IoT solution. We teamed up with The Things Network to explore how to find the right balance between battery performance and long-range communication.

New distributors: Qoitech’s Otii now in stock at OKdo and RS Components

We are very excited to announce our new distribution partnership with OKdo, the global technology company with a clear aim to disrupt single board computer and IoT segments.

Updates to Otii Arc datasheet

Today, based on statistics, tighter calibration limits and updates in the firmware, we can proudly announce an update to the technical specification.

Qoitech’s Otii battery toolbox now in stock at Digikey

Lund, Sweden, 24th of October 2019 – Qoitech AB today announces the release of its new software add-on, Otii Battery Toolbox, and its availability on Digi-Key Electronics, a global electronic components distributor.

Are you our next Tech Hero?

This role is for you, a developer, who loves working with technology and product development but interested to take a step into tech marketing and sales.

Qoitech raises funding to spin-out energy optimization tool from Sony Mobile Communications

Lund, Sweden, 6 September 2019 Qoitech AB – after a great start as part of Sony Mobile Communications – is excited to announce that it has spun out to become an independent company with a €500,000 investment from Deeptech Seed Fund, who led the round, and Mikael Ahlström, Swedish entrepreneur and investor.

We don’t live in an ideal world, so why does my datasheet?

In a real-world scenario, many integrated devices operate in ways that vary significantly from those advertised. Generally, engineers can accept this and design accordingly, but in our pursuit of perfection in a more connected world, we are now looking to develop devices that can operate at the edge of the network for several years powered only by a single primary cell.

Otii in Use: Raspberry Pi Zero W power analysis

Australian youtuber Ingmar M takes a first look at the Otii Application and how Otii functions as power analyzer. As an example, Ingmar uses the Raspberry Pi Zero W.

Scroll damnit! Software 2.5.0 released

Otii application 2.5.0 and Arc firmare 1.1.1 brings sought-after usability improvements, bug fixes and performance enhancements.

Changes to Otii portfolio!

As part of our goal to improve, we are now adjusting our portfolio and business model to better suit the needs of current and new customers.

Competition Closed. And the winner is…

We were running a competition during Embedded World 2019 to give one lucky maker a free Otii.

Welcome to the Embedded World family!

Embedded World is the world’s leading meeting place for the embedded community – and we were excited to be there for the first time.

Meet us at the embedded world’19 in Nürnberg!

Are you attending the Embedded World Conference’19 in Nürnberg on 26 – 28th February?

Qoitech invites developers to its booth at Embedded World in hall 3, booth 3-463

Lund, Sweden, 12th February 2019 – Qoitech is pleased to announce its attendance at Embedded World Exhibition and Conference at Nuremburg, Germany on 26 – 28th February.

Is your LoraWAN device long lived?

A big question to ask, and not that easy to answer, if you don´t have the right means of getting insight about what actually drains the battery in your device.

On power management for IoT: New case study

A new case study on power management for IoT by our Björn published at DigiKey

Join us at The Things Conference 19′ in Amsterdam

We are very excited to announce that we will be present at The Things Conference in Amsterdam, Jan 31 – Feb 1 2019! We’ll have a booth where you will be able to measure the battery life of your devices. You can book your demos now!

Thou shall be aligned – New Software!

Otii application 2.3.0 and Arc firmare 1.1.0 brings sought-after usability improvements, bug fixes and performance enhancements.

DESIGN&ELEKTRONIK interview

Innovator of the Year Award Winner Qoitech has received a surprisingly good response for a novel test solution in the established performance analysis market. But what does the use case actually look like for the test device?

Otii at IoT Solutions World Congress in Barcelona 2018 with Orange, Ercogener & Sony

IoT Solutions World Congress in Barcelona was a big success for Otii and the Qoitech team

What is the purpose of the General Purpose Output Pins in the Otii Arc?

You asked us what kind of load can be connected to general purpose output GPO1 and GPO2 pins in Otii Arc expansion connector.

We won the innovator of the year from DESIGN&ELEKTRONIK!

We are extremely excited and grateful to have won the Innovator of the Year award 2018.

Experience Otii in action at IoT solutions world congress in Barcelona

We are packing Otiis and getting ready for all the exciting demos we will be a part of in Barcelona next week.

Qoitech and Ercogener demonstrate live LTE-M services to highlight the potential of ultra-low energy LTE-M in the Massive IoT over cellular network paving the way to 5G IoT

Lund, Sweden, 10 October 2018 – Qoitech and Ercogener are pleased to announce that its EG-IoT range of IoT devices has been tested by Orange over the LTE-M (Cat M1) cellular network technology, with Qoitech’s Otii solution validating its energy saving potential.

Otii among top 5 test products of the year

We are delighted to announce that our Otii is shortlisted for Elektra Awards 2018, organized by ElectronicsWeekly.com.

Hardware pioneers demo night in munich

We love a strong startup community! Hence, we were very happy and honored to be chosen as one of the 20 up-and-coming European startups to deliver a pitch and a live demo during a Hardware Pioneers Demo Night in Munich at Telefonica’s Wayra.

Meet us at IoT Solutions World Congress in Barcelona

Are you attending IoT Solutions World Congress? We will be there, we will do demos and we can’t wait to meet you!

Otii as a smart lab power supply

When we embarked on the journey to bring Otii to the market we really wanted to offer an all-in-one tool for working with device current consumption.

How does the Otii Arc handle a device under test that sources voltage into the main terminals?

You asked us how the Otii Arc handles a device under test that sources voltage into the main terminals.

Otii demonstrates 5x battery life improvement in second-generation Massive IoT e-health wearable prototype by Ericsson, Sony Mobile and Altair Semiconductor

Lund, Sweden, 6 September 2018 – Qoitech AB is pleased to announce that its Otii solution has been part of a cooperation with Ericsson, Sony Mobile and Altair Semiconductor to deliver over five times longer battery lifetime in a second generation connected wearable prototype for e-health such as diabetes monitoring.

Meet Us – Otii is on the road!

We love to travel, especially for the purpose to showcase our Otii and talk to all our fellow developers out there.

Interview with Patrick Mannion at DAC’18 – Otii Arc Teardown

In late June, we took part in the 55th Design Automation Conference (DAC) in San Francisco, where we were invited by Patrick Mannion who performed a first Otii Arc teardown.

Join the first Otii teardown at the Design Automation Conference in San Francisco

We at Qoitech are excited to be taking part in the Design Automation Conference (DAC) on June 26th from 4:30 – 5:00pm in San Francisco, CA where Patrick Mannion will do a first teardown of the Otii Arc!

Vote for Us – Innovator of the Year 2018

We are pleased to announce that we have been nominated by Constantin Tomaras, as an Innovator of the Year in the Measurement Technology category in DESIGN&ELEKTRONIK’s annual awards.

Qoitech nominated as DESIGN & ELEKTRONIK Measurement Technology Innovator of the Year

We are pleased to announce that we have been nominated by Constantin Tomaras, as an Innovator of the Year in the Measurement Technology category in the magazine’s annual awards.

Watch our newest Q&A on what can be done with the GPI pins

One of our most frequently asked questions is about the expansion port on the Otii Arc, specifically about the GPIO pins and how they can be used. We thought we’d give you a simple example of their use!

How to use Expansion Port GPIO pins to trigger power consumption measurements

One of our most frequently asked questions is about the expansion port on the Otii Arc, specifically about the GPIO pins and how they can be used.

Otii receives a major software update bringing enhanced features and greater productivity

Qoitech AB today announces the release of version 2.0.0 of the Otii multi-platform desktop software environment that supports the Otii Arc, the innovative energy consumption analysis hardware for developers.

Otii – A part of energy efficient IoT demo at Ericsson Garage

With billions of IoT devices to come, energy efficiency becomes more and more of a ‘hot’ topic among developers, engineering managers and CTOs of growing and established companies developing smart devices.

Power consumption measurements of new ublox Zoe-M8B in two scenarios

If you have been developing an IoT device that requires positioning, such as smart watches or trackers, you might have come across the Zoe M8 series GNSS SIP from u-blox.

DIY Water Level Indicator – Part 1: Functionality

One of the most apparent use cases of IoT is monitoring at remote locations, putting tough requirements on internet accessibility yet long battery life time, due to no access for frequent battery changes.

DIY Water Level Indicator – Part 1: Functionality

One of the most apparent use cases of IoT is monitoring at remote locations, putting tough requirements on internet accessibility yet long battery life time, due to no access for frequent battery changes.

Battery Profiling and Measurement with Multiple Otii Arcs

In this Q&A video we use battery profiling as a good example of use case for this capability. We profile two Alkaline batteries on two Otii Arc each.

Battery Profiling and Measurement with Multiple Otii Arcs

We got a question from our community members on whether you can use more than one Otii Arc simultaneously in the Otii desktop app.

Press release – Otii now in stock at Digi-Key

Qoitech AB today announces that it has signed a worldwide distribution agreement with Digi-Key Electronics, a global electronic components distributor, to distribute the Otii solution, a power measurement tool with software.

Otii scripting capabilities – make iterative and complex measurements a breeze!

Wondering if you can automate your measurements using Otii? Or maybe profile a battery that you’re considering to use for your product?

Current measurements of the PSoC® 6 BLE Pioneer Kit from Cypress – Part 2

For this tutorial we searched for the cause of the extensive power consumption and as it turns out it was due to faulty firmware in the USB-C controller.

How to measure smartphone energy consumption (Samsung S7 Example)

Understanding where and how energy is consumed in a mobile phone is crucial for great battery life, and an even better user experience.

Get the most out of your battery on IoT devices: How to power your IoT device – Part 1 and 2

A common challenge that developers and engineers face is how to get the most out of the battery life for the device they’re developing.

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