New Discovery: Microsoft Corporation To Use Software To Ensure Laptop Batteries Last The Entire Day

Microsoft has come up with a radical new idea focusing on software instead of hardware that will ensure battery life in laptops and tablets is significantly extended

Microsoft has outlined a new method of conserving laptop battery in its official blog post. The method is what Microsoft calls a radical alternative, and Microsoft wants to build a better computer which will automatically conserve less battery. The company has been working with academics to devise a method which combines smart software with a couple of batteries to ensure that laptops can keep their charge for much longer.

Microsoft Corporation and academic researchers have hence come up with the Software Defined Batteries project, which the coalition of researchers will present next week at the ACM Symposium on Operating Systems Principles. While still in the research phases, the company hopes to eventually open up the product for general consumer use. Microsoft’s Research division wants to extend battery life using existing technology instead of introducing some expensive high-tech hardware.
Microsoft explained the method with which it would make the system work, and it is fairly simple. Normal laptops or tablets already contain multiple batteries, but they all power up the device in the same way. The electric charge is managed through the hardware, not the operating system. This helped device makers derive a lot of battery life, but the method leaves device makers reliant on the quality of the batteries. Better batteries equal better output.
 
But existing batteries have not been upgraded to reflect advancements in other areas of the computer, such as screens and processors, although usage has increased as people use their devices to accomplish more work than ever before. Microsoft’s Surface Devices senior engineer Julia Meinershagen said that that lithium-ion cannot deliver what is now required of computers.
Microsoft wants to use the OS to control different kinds of batteries within the same computer. Different tasks, such as watching a video or just browsing the internet, require different levels of power. The software would ensure that battery power is conserved for the really tasking methods, while menial tasks will not take up much battery power.
The system would even employ machine learning techniques to tailor the laptop to the user’s habits, ensuring that battery life can be extended by catering to the user’s usage patterns. Better optimization methods will hence look at the different timings when the user plugs in a device for charging.
Hence, if someone usually charges a device before a meeting or a presentation at a certain time every day, the computer can prepare for the quick charge ahead of time. If someone works on the laptop during the day and watches shows and movies during the night, the computer can adjust the battery accordingly to ensure that the device maintains power throughout the day.

Microsoft researchers hope that the new power-saving techniques will eventually be applied to all devices which use a battery, including smartphones and electric cars. Rather than having its engineers work on inventing the ultimate battery, Microsoft is trying to make the best of existing choices to offer a proper solution to customers.
The option is certainly useful in an age where smartphone and laptop makers are trying to come up with better and more efficient batteries. Apple Inc. itself came up with a way to position the battery on its new MacBook Pro, using a layered form of the battery instead of the normal solid rectangular battery found on most existing laptops. Apple has also patented a fuel cell battery system which it hopes to use to power up laptops in the future. It will certainly be an innovative way to provide more battery life, but given the cost of Apple’s Macs, it might not be the affordable solution most customers are looking for.
The pricing element is one thing which makes Microsoft’s Software Defined Batteries all the more useful since this is a power-conservation solution that is widely adaptable. It is not likely to add significantly to the manufacturing costs, although OEMs will need to work out the positioning of different batteries with respect to other hardware. The project is still in the research stage, but if it is approved for consumer use, BIdness Etc can see this being quickly adapted, and perhaps become even a standard feature in most laptops in the next few years.