Curiosity uses latest power management techniques

Stefan Mileschin · 10th August 2012, 07:36

Humanity's most sophisticated spacecraft ever sent to another planet, uses the sort of processor which is so slow it makes a first generation smartphone look blistering fast.

According to AP, the 900-kilogram rover runs on a computer with the same power as a smartphone. To keep the power low, the chip which runs rover's post-landing software has a processing speed of just 200 megahertz which is about a fifth of the average smartphone.

The software will have to run 10 scientific instruments and 17 cameras and beam back high resolution snaps.

Curiosity sends data, including images, back to Earth through its multiple antennas via the two Mars orbiters, Reconnaissance and Odyssey. It can also send messages directly to Earth. It can relay data along this network at at up to two megabits per second.

What this has highlighted is how much redundant processing speed there is in a modern PC and mobile phone. If tasks are specific, it is possible to save a lot of energy by running slower processors. 200 megahertz has not been state of the art on a PC since 1995 but are still occasionally used in System on Chip (SoC) designs in industry.

http://news.techeye.net/science/curi...ent-techniques

10th August 2012, 07:36	#1
Stefan Mileschin [M] Reviewer Join Date: May 2010 Location: Romania Posts: 148,500	Curiosity uses latest power management techniques Humanity's most sophisticated spacecraft ever sent to another planet, uses the sort of processor which is so slow it makes a first generation smartphone look blistering fast. According to AP, the 900-kilogram rover runs on a computer with the same power as a smartphone. To keep the power low, the chip which runs rover's post-landing software has a processing speed of just 200 megahertz which is about a fifth of the average smartphone. The software will have to run 10 scientific instruments and 17 cameras and beam back high resolution snaps. Curiosity sends data, including images, back to Earth through its multiple antennas via the two Mars orbiters, Reconnaissance and Odyssey. It can also send messages directly to Earth. It can relay data along this network at at up to two megabits per second. What this has highlighted is how much redundant processing speed there is in a modern PC and mobile phone. If tasks are specific, it is possible to save a lot of energy by running slower processors. 200 megahertz has not been state of the art on a PC since 1995 but are still occasionally used in System on Chip (SoC) designs in industry. http://news.techeye.net/science/curi...ent-techniques

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Power management semiconductor market to rake in the cash	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	30th May 2012 06:46
HTC One X gets unofficial power management fix, boosts battery life 10 to 20 percent	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	16th April 2012 07:03
Power Bridge Turns Cord Management Upside Down	jmke	WebNews	0	7th September 2009 11:48
PC Power Management, ACPI Explained In Detail	jmke	WebNews	1	11th July 2007 10:53
Novell, AMD sync up on SUSE Linux power management	Sidney	WebNews	0	27th June 2007 03:38
Performance and Power Management Technologies in Intel Processors	jmke	WebNews	0	13th December 2006 11:09
Save Your Energy: Power Management Technology	jmke	WebNews	0	8th November 2006 15:27
AcBel 500W power supply with power management LCD	jmke	WebNews	0	15th December 2005 18:17
TI Introduces New Power Management ICs to Enhance OLED Color Displays	jmke	WebNews	0	31st March 2004 08:34