article_snippet: Atmel has released Atmel latest  microcontrollers (MCUs) for a variety of gadgets that are so low power they can even harvest energy from a person's body.
article_snippet: Atmel has released Atmel latest microcontrollers (MCUs) for a variety of gadgets that are so low power they can even harvest energy from a person's body. 
article_snippet: Atmel said Atmel MCUs extend 'battery life from years to decades, reducing the number of times batteries need to be changed in devices' The ultra-low power SAM L microcontrollers are part of Atmel's 32-bit ARM-based MCU range.
article_snippet: These are all powered by chip maker ARM's Cortex M0+ 32-bit processors.
article_snippet: A number of Apple devices, including the iPhone 5S and iPad Air are powered by chips based around ARM technology.
article_snippet: Atmel said Atmel MCUs extend 'battery life from years to decades, reducing the number of times batteries need to be changed in devices such as fire alarms, healthcare, medical, wearable, and devices placed in rural, agriculture, offshore and other remote areas.
article_snippet: The microcontrollers run on the firm's picoPower technology and Atmel's Event System that makes different parts of the device work together to carry out tasks.
article_snippet: As Ars Technica's Sean Gallagher explained, the processor isn't powerful enough to run a computer desktop, for example, but does come with enough power and memory to stream media from a USB stick, send alerts from smart alarms and lights and run multiple apps.
article_snippet: Atmel's current model is designed for smart household devices and other gadgets that use relatively low power, but the technology has the potential to one day run on more power-hungry gadgets such as phones and tablets.
highlights_snippet: Atmel has released Atmel ultra-low power ARM-based microcontroller .
  