Smartphone Battery Life rises 50% With E-MiLi Wi-Fi

The University of Michigan has been researching the effects of Wi-Fi on smartphone battery life and after some extensive studies it has figured a way to reduce power consumption by enough to extend battery life up to 50%. Phones spend up to 80% of their operation time in a standard Wi-Fi listening state which apparently consumes the same amount of energy as when a phone is connected and interacting with a Wi-Fi stream.

The solution is known as E-MiLi or Energy Minimizing Idle Listening, essentially what it does is utilise 1/16th of the energy normally used in idle Wi-Fi state and is still able to perform the same core listening functions. At the ACM International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking in Las Vegas the research team will present their idea which can extend battery life by around 44% for 92% of mobile devices.

The technology will require smartphones to be equipped with processor-slowing software and new firmware to account for the different listening activity. The University of Michigan said it is “pursuing patent protection for the intellectual property, and is seeking commercialization partners to help bring the technology to market.”

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