This is a project for studying and improving technologies for use in low-power mobile audio applications.

The current trends in social-electronic integration are indicative of a level of “Ambient Computing”. That is, providing users with electronic services independent of their physical location or condition.

Examples of this new form of integration can be seen in everything from cell-phones, portable music players, portable gaming devices, laptops, palmtops, and most recently smart-phones.

For this entire generation of new devices, one of the most critical design factors to emerge is that of power efficiency. Users are demanding smaller and lighter devices, more features and more powerful processing power, and longer battery times.

Unfortunately, improvements in the power density of consumer level batteries are significantly lacking behind user demands, bringing about the increasingly urgent need for exceptionally energy-efficient technologies upon which the next generation of devices can be built.

Statistics:

• This year, Apple reported cumulative sales of over 110 Million IPods.
• Current IEEE estimates indicate over 2 Billion Cell Phone Subscribers
• According to a survey conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, US Households consume an estimated 1600 GWh per year with portable rechargeable devices in 2006.