Blog – Kliskatek

Why We Build Battery-Free Sensors: The Hardest Proof of Owning the Whole RF/Firmware/Software Stack

2026-06-08 by Mikel Choperena

Battery-free sensors are our hardest product — and the most demanding proof that we own the complete hardware, firmware, software and wireless/RF stack. Here’s why that matters for your next cross-domain project.

Three-level filter for determining whether an asset needs battery-free sensing — Level 1 (sealed, inaccessible, battery-free is the only option), Level 2 (accessible but maintenance is costly, battery-free eliminates a pain point), Level 3 (accessible with standard maintenance, consider alternatives) — with three qualifying questions.

Does Your Sealed, Inaccessible Asset Actually Need Battery-Free? A Practical Filter

2026-06-02 by Mikel Choperena

A practical three-question filter to determine whether your monitoring application genuinely needs battery-free sensing, or whether battery-powered or wired alternatives might be simpler and cheaper. Honest guidance on when to call us — and when not to.

Side-by-side comparison of two approaches to a cross-domain project — splitting across four specialist vendors with the integration risk falling on the client, versus one team owning the complete HW plus FW plus SW plus wireless system with integration risk managed internally — illustrated with three real project examples.

When One Vendor Can’t Own It: The Hidden Cost of Splitting a HW/FW/SW + Wireless Project

2026-05-25 by Mikel Choperena

What happens when a project that needs hardware, firmware, software and wireless to work together gets split across four specialists. The integration risk nobody budgets for — and how to avoid it.

Development path from evaluation to production — Stage 1: KL-OSIRIS as a free evaluation tool for one tag at a time; Stage 2: SENSEID SDK in .NET and Python for building custom multi-tag applications with reader abstraction and sensor data decoding; Stage 3: production with custom engineering, antenna design, housing, and feasibility study. Includes a comparison of what the SDK provides versus what you build yourself, and a list of supported readers.

SENSEID SDK: Building Custom Applications in .NET and Python

2026-05-212026-05-18 by Mikel Choperena

The SENSEID SDK gives developers a starting point for building battery-free sensor applications in .NET and Python. What it covers, what it doesn’t, and when you’ll need custom engineering.

EVAL-SNFC-RHAT evaluation board specifications alongside a comparison of all three Kliskatek product lines — SenseID (EPC C1G2), SenseBLE (BLE burst) and SenseNFC (NFC) — showing that SenseNFC uses NFC field energy from smartphones, requires no fixed infrastructure, and operates at near-field range by design.

SenseNFC Evaluation Guide: Tap Your Phone to Read a Battery‑Free Sensor

2026-05-212026-05-11 by Mikel Choperena

Complete guide to the SenseNFC evaluation board. A battery-free humidity and temperature sensor powered by your smartphone’s NFC field. No reader, no infrastructure, no batteries. 50 € and your phone.

Four SenseBLE evaluation boards — EVAL-SBLE-AT (ambient temperature), EVAL-SBLE-RHAT (humidity and temperature), EVAL-SBLE-ACC (3-axis accelerometer), and EVAL-SBLE-MGF (magnetometer) — each at 50 euros, powered by UHF RF harvesting, communicating via BLE advertising bursts receivable by any BLE device.

SenseBLE Evaluation Guide: BLE Burst Tags — Same Sensors, Different Infrastructure

2026-05-212026-05-04 by Mikel Choperena

Complete guide to the SenseBLE evaluation boards. Four battery-free sensor tags that communicate via BLE advertising bursts — same sensors as SenseID, lower infrastructure cost. All at 50 € and readable by any BLE device.

Five SenseID evaluation boards — EVAL-SID-AT (ambient temperature), EVAL-SID-CTN (contact temperature), EVAL-SID-RHAT (humidity and temperature), EVAL-SID-ACC (3-axis accelerometer), and EVAL-SID-MGF (magnetometer) — each at 50 euros, compatible with commercial EPC C1G2 readers and KL-OSIRIS software.

SenseID Evaluation Guide: EPC C1G2 Tags for Temperature, Humidity, Acceleration & More

2026-05-212026-04-28 by Mikel Choperena

Complete guide to the SenseID evaluation board family. Five battery-free sensor tags using EPC C1G2 — temperature, humidity, accelerometer, magnetometer and contact temperature — all at 50 € and compatible with commercial RFID readers.

Three-step workflow for KL-OSIRIS — connect hardware, launch the software, take measurements — with a list of compatible SenseID and SenseBLE evaluation boards and a summary of what you get in 30 minutes.

Getting Started: Your First Battery‑Free Measurement with KL‑OSIRIS

2026-05-212026-04-21 by Mikel Choperena

Step-by-step guide to taking your first battery-free sensor measurement with KL-OSIRIS, Kliskatek’s free evaluation software. Connect a reader, place a tag, see live data in under 30 minutes.

Side-by-side comparison showing EPC C1G2 path (single RFID reader with same-band TX and RX, higher cost) versus BLE burst path (separate RF transmitter and BLE gateway in different bands, lower combined cost), with a section showing what stays the same: sensor, accuracy, range, and data.

The Economics of Battery‑Free: RFID Reader Cost vs RF TX + BLE RX

2026-05-212026-04-14 by Mikel Choperena

Why UHF RFID readers cost more than RF transmitters plus BLE gateways, when each option makes economic sense, and how to think about total cost of ownership for battery-free sensor deployments.