Texas Instruments Delivers Chips For Intelligent Car Battery

Texas Instruments (TI) has delivered its first shipment of microchips to a company developing Smart Energy Management (SEM) technology, which links conventional car batteries with software-controlled intelligent energy management systems. Dallas-based TI alliance partner iQ Power Technology Inc. says the self-learning SEM system optimizes the capabilities of the battery and can adjust itself to the use and driving profile of the individual car. The system allows communication of power-management information to the car's onboard computer via the vehicle's existing power line. "The iQ chip is the heart of our technology," says Peter Braun, CEO of Vancouver, B. C.-based iQ Power. "We are pleased to be working with Texas Instruments in order to provide the marketplace with this evolutionary technology." The sample microchips, delivered to the German engineering subsidiary of iQ Power, Munich-based iQ Battery Research & Development GmbH, are the first in a series, which are scheduled for intensive field testing later this year. The microchips will be installed in about 1,500 batteries, which will be tested by major auto manufacturers.