How power-hungry is your software?

The increasing demand for battery-powered and energy-efficient products has made power consumption a hot topic for embedded developers. Low power microcontrollers have enabled a host of new applications, from energy-scavenging sensors to the latest hand-held gadget, each with a demanding power budget. To help developers optimise their software for low power consumption Hitex has introduced PowerScale - a truly innovative energy profiling tool. PowerScale has been developed specifically for embedded microcontrollers. For the first time developers can easily visualise the power usage of individual software routines.

PowerScale has been awarded “the most innovative tool” with the prestigious Embedded Award in the “tools” category at the Embedded World Show 2010.  

Real power measurement

PowerScale measures the real power consumption – current and voltage at the same time.

ACM technology

Active Current Measurement technology provides a wide dynamic range from 200nA to 500mA with minimal insertion loss. Just connect the probe and take the measurement, PowerScale does the rest.

Easy adaptation

PowerScale probes are connected directly to the circuit of the application, no additional shunts are needed within the hardware (they are integrated in the probes). Ready-made adapters for Power-Over-USB or Power-Over-Ethernet applications are also available.  

GUI and open API

PowerScale comes with its own easy-to-use user interface. Minimal configuration is required: simply drag and drop the quantities to be measured and hit Go.  Alternatively an Open API is provided for integration into other development or test tools.