Is it possible to read the power usage out of the Thingy52 using Bluetooth?

RE: Is it possible to read the power usage out of the Thingy52 using Bluetooth?

Karl Ylvisaker — Tue, 25 Feb 2020 15:44:48 GMT

Hi,

Now I understand better what you meant in your original question.
In that case, you could use a Power Profile kit or ampere-meter to measure the power consumption of the nRF52832 when performing different operations.
To do this you need to connect the ampere-meter or PPK as shown here.
The nominal current drawn by the different sensors are specified in their datasheets. The different sensors are specified and named here.

Reverting to your previous question, it is possible to read out the battery voltage level directly - the value that the Thingy uses to calculate its voltage level.
If you are interested in this, please have a look at the sources/modules/m_batt_meas file from the Thingy 210 SDK.

Best regards,
Karl

RE: Is it possible to read the power usage out of the Thingy52 using Bluetooth?

svansomeren — Tue, 25 Feb 2020 14:58:31 GMT

Alternatively, do you know if there's any documentation available stating how much power each sensor draws per time unit? This way I could just calculate how much power would be used at any time based on which sensors are on.

RE: Is it possible to read the power usage out of the Thingy52 using Bluetooth?

svansomeren — Tue, 25 Feb 2020 14:51:32 GMT

Hey Karl,

I'm trying to figure out how much power is used while I have x amount of sensors collecting and sending data. I don't think being able to read the battery level as a percentage will be of much use to me in this case.

Do you know if it's possible to read the value of power being drawn from the battery somehow?

Best regards

RE: Is it possible to read the power usage out of the Thingy52 using Bluetooth?

Karl Ylvisaker — Tue, 25 Feb 2020 14:48:02 GMT

Hi,

You can find the documentation for the Thingy52 here.
As you can see in the documentation, it is possible to get the device battery level, through the battery level service. I am not sure if it is the battery level you refer to when you say "power usage", or do you specifically seek to know the voltage level or current drain of the battery? The battery level available through the battery level service is provided as a percentage of its maximal charge.

If you are using the accompanying Thingy app for IOS / Android, you can read the battery level in the app directly. Unfortunately, displaying battery level in the web version of the Thingy52 interface is unavailable.
If you would like to create your own interface, or have the Thingy52 data available elsewhere on a computer, you can check out this unsupported example for guidance. It contains a battery.js example on how to retrieve the battery level of the device from a computer with bluetooth.

Does this answer your question?

Best regards,
Karl