Wisebatt for Saft - How does it work?
Create your virtual prototype, evaluate your power consumption and choose the best components for your device using the Wisebatt for Saft platform, available at this URL https://saft.wisebatt.com or from our saft4u website, is not just quick, it’s fun and intuitive!
How does it work?
1. Step 1 - Create your account
Head over to saft.wisebatt.com and create your account. You will then be redirected to your Dashboard page.
2. Step 2- Start a new project
From there, you can start a new project or explore existing examples projects.
Wisebatt for Saft proposes 3 levels of project creation, depending on your degree of proficiency with the tool:
- Wizard - Beginner: You just have to define the functional specifications of your future device to generate a template of your hardware and software architecture. You can then refine it to adapt it to your own specifications.
- DevKits - Intermediate: You can use hardware development kits as a base for your new project and then redesign the hardware and software to fit your needs.
- Start from scratch - Expert: You are free to assemble your components from our library of 7500+ models, and then draft your device’s software with functional blocks.
If you are using “Start from Scratch”, you will be redirected to this page, where you can enter your device’s Title and Description, as well as add a contributor if you want.
NB. Adding a contributor is not mandatory. You can only add contributors who already created an account on saft.wisebatt.com.
When you are finished, click on “Create New Project”.
If you are using the Wizard, you’ll be redirected to this page, where you can enter your device’s functional specifications.
Your "use case" relates to the way that your device will be used.
The “key features of your device” allow you to specify the Sensor type and Communication technology.
In the “project focus”, you can define if your project should be low-power, low-cost, high performance or all three.
When you are finished, click on "Create New Project".
You will then be redirected to the Project Area, the heart of the solution.
Wisebatt for Saft works in 3 stages:
- Schematics Design: Design the hardware schematics of your device. Drag and drop components and connect them together.
- Behavior Design: Design with functional diagrams how your micro-controller unit will behave and how it will use all the components present in your device, over a specific period of time.
- Results Analysis: See how long your device will last until it stops working and understand how to optimize your design to improve its battery life.
3. Step 3 – Design your schematics
In the library you can find the list of all the modeled components. Simply drag and drop the components that you need, from the Library into the design space.
The Library is organized in 6 categories, representing the most common categories of electronic components for IoT and small electronic devices:
- Measure & Data Acquisition. Sensors that react to environmental conditions by changing their electrical properties or generating an electrical signal.
- Processing. Electronic circuits such as MCUs and Flash Memory that perform operations on external data sources, usually memory or some other data stream.
- Passive. Passive components unable to control current by means of another electrical signal (Diodes only, the resistances, inductance and capacitors being directly integrated in the component models)
- Power. Primary batteries, secondary batteries and voltage regulators.
- Communication. Components transmitting or receiving data to/from another communication device.
- Actuator that converts electrical energy into mechanical motion.
The filters and search box will allow you to sort the components by type, brand, voltage supply or power consumption.
4. Step 4 – Specify your device’s Behavior
This is where you describe how your device is going to function from start to finish. Block diagrams will help you represent functional diagrams defining how your microcontroller unit executes instructions and interacts with the device’s components over a specific period of time.
You’ll need to ask yourself what will your device do and describe all the possibilities that can happen. Write down the steps and clarify how your device will use all the components specified during the schematic design phase.
Each block in the Library represents a state or operation. Drag them from the Library and drop them within the loop that is already embedded in the Design Space.
Once you are finished, click on Launch Results to launch the Compiler.
The Compiler will make sure your design doesn’t include abnormalities. If there aren’t any, the simulation will launch and you will be able to access the results. If there are, the Behavior Compiler box will appear.
5. Step 5 – Access the Results & Battery Life Estimation
This is what Wisebatt for Saft is all about! At this stage, you’ll be able to access:
- An overall view of your power analysis and cost results
- The power analysis of your device and of each individual component
- The cost of production of your device
- The production files related to your choice of hardware
Power analysis
On the top left of the power analysis tab, you’ll find the battery life estimation of your device, from fully charged until it stops working (when the battery is depleted or when the device reaches its cut-off voltage, the minimum application voltage under which the device stops working).
You can then delve into the consumption profile of your whole device (ALL) or of any of your device’s components.
The consumption distribution graph displays the overall battery consumption of each of the component’s category or, if you click on a specific component, the analysis of this component’s consumption.
The time vs Energy Distribution graph allows in-depth comparison of the time spent in each state vs. the power consumed by each state.
The Voltage and Current graph displays the way the battery is used from its first start until its end of life. This graph is very helpful to see if your design contains an error in the design, for example, if one of the components consumes too much energy or if it involves a voltage that should not exist.
Cost of Production
This is where you will find the Bill of Materials (BoM) of your device. The prices of dozens of distributors’ components are updated several times a day to make sure the data is accurate.
By default, the total price displayed is for 1,000 pieces. Click on the “Change the number of pieces” button to update it to the number of devices you’d like to produce. The cost per component will be automatically updated.
The default-displayed currency is Euro but you can convert your prices to Dollars. The exchange rate is dynamically updated every day.
You can also choose distributors from Europe, North America and Asia (displayed by default) or from only one of these regions.
In the list below, you can refine your selection according to the price of the components and click on the “Order Online” button to be redirected to the distributors’ site.
Considering there’s no “one size fits all” for batteries (or one chemistry for that matter!), Saft doesn’t offer e-commerce functionalities on its website. Before processing the order, we like to make sure that your choice of battery is indeed the right match for your device and one which will give it the best chance of success. In this way, not only are you guaranteed to choose the right battery, but you will also receive a reliable estimation of battery life for your specific device. For the same reasons, the price of the battery is not included in the cost of production tab.
Production files
The third and final tab of the “Results” section —the “Production Files” tab— will provide you with information that will help you go further in your PCB design and firmware development:
- Links to all your project components’ datasheets (.csv)
- The list of on-chip peripherals for each component (.txt)
- The list of your chosen parameters configuration for each component (.csv)
Simply click the "Download Production Files" button to download a .zip of those files or click on one of the components to view its detailed information.
You can refine your design and optimize its power consumption. Simply go back to your Schematics and Behavior and edit them to fit your specifications.
That’s it! Creating your virtual prototype is as simple as that with the help of Saft for Wisebatt.
However, if you have any questions or if you’d like to find out more, the Wisebatt team will happily give you a tour of the platform. Just click on the “Book a demo” link below and they will arrange a time. You can also email us at energizeIoT@saftbatteries.com for any technical questions regarding Saft lithium batteries.
Over to you now! Which device are you planning on designing next?
