Smart Batteries Should Help Smart Devices

Regardless of whether the device is a handheld PDA, or a several hundred pound automobile, battery technology has found it difficult to keep pace with the breakneck speed of advances in other areas. What this means is that otherwise state-of-the-art devices have proved to be of less-than-expected utility.

While a true breakthrough in battery technology is probably still a ways off, two industry leading companies have banded together to introduce a pair of “smart battery” specifications for mobile computing devices that should assist people in better using this critical resource.

On April 21, 1994, Duracell International Inc. and Intel Corporation announced the general availability of the Smart Battery Data (SBD) and the System Management Bus (SMBus) specifications. A “smart battery” is a rechargeable battery that is capable of presenting its current state, along with predicted battery information, to the host device by means of specialized hardware and software.

This enables the device and the user to have more accurate information concerning the battery charge and remaining operating time. The specifications are independent of either the battery chemistry, or the voltage, capacity, or physical packaging.

The Smart Battery Data specification defines the type of data exchanged between the smart battery and the host device using the SMBus. It also defines the type of information provided to the user. The System Management Bus, in turn, describes a protocol with which power-related devices can communicate.

Intel and Duracell are working to gather industry input and support and have already received commitments from Compaq, and BIOS vendors Phoenix Technologies and SystemSoft. Copies of the SBD and SMBus are available as product code SBS5220 from the Intel Literature Center at 1-800-253-3696 or (916) 797-4216.