Minimize power consumption and maximize data storage

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cedoche123
 
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Minimize power consumption and maximize data storage

Post by cedoche123 »

Hello !

My project consists in measuring and storing acceleration data using a Flora accelerometer and a Gemma M0 microcontroller.

I could make it work using CircuitPython but now I need to minimize power consumption and maximize data storage. Therefore I’m thinking about switching to C language as, in this way, I will be able to use the low-power sleep mode and, probably, reduce the overall size of the libraries.

Can you please tell me if there is a way to write data to the M0 using C libraries and, if yes, where I can find any relevant information?

Otherwise any suggestion on how to minimize power consumption and maximize data storage using Circuit Python is very welcome!

Thank you in advance!

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Minimize power consumption and maximize data storage

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

There is a library to emulate EEPROM storage using the processor's Flash memory here: https://github.com/cmaglie/FlashStorage

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cedoche123
 
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Re: Minimize power consumption and maximize data storage

Post by cedoche123 »

Hi,

Many thanks for your answer.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the link says I can write ~10000 times to the flash memory. Should I understand that I will have the same constraint using the storage module in CircuitPython?

It is not explicit on this page : https://learn.adafruit.com/circuitpytho ... on-storage

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Minimize power consumption and maximize data storage

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Yes. That is a physical limitation of flash memory.

It is not a major issue with flash-based mass storage devices like SD cards, since they employ redundancy and 'wear-leveling' algorithms to spread out the write/erase activity. But these optimizations do not exist in processor flash since it is primarily intended for program storage.

Another option might be an Adalogger Feather or Wing so you can store the data to an SD card.

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