The Challenge

Traditional power management relies on keyboard mouse inactivity timers to activate power saving features such as turning off the monitor or putting the device to sleep. This technique is highly limited:

• Workflow: It’s possible for the monitor to put turned off while reading a document or watching a video, thereby disrupting workflow.
• Power savings: To prevent frequent disruptions in workflow, timers to activate power saving features must be very long, thereby severely limiting the amount of power saved.

The Solution

Instead of relying on imprecise inactivity timers alone, EcoAware also considers whether or not your face is visible when deciding whether to activate power savings.  

• Workflow: Now as long as your face is visible, the device will device will be highly responsive. This facilitates workflow and allows you to use the computer as it was intended. After the monitor has been turned off/dimmed, it turns now back on instantly with either keyboard/mouse movement or when your face returns to view of the camera.
• Power savings: At the same time that you get the workflow benefits of a full-power device, EcoAware saves tremendous amounts of electricity above and beyond basic Windows power schemes by activating power saving techniques far more quickly and aggressively than would normally be tolerated.

The Result

Use your built-in web camera to “green” your computer with significant power savings with no downside to your workflow.