Who hasn't missed an important call or woke up at the wrong time because you forgot to charge your cellphone over night? Well, Nokia hopes to make that a thing of the past by developing a technology that would use ambient radio radiation to perpetually charge a phone's battery.
According to a report by Technology Review, the Nokia Research Center (NRC) has already developed a prototype that converts radio waves into electrical energy. RFID tags and crystal radios work on a similar principle, but the Nokia team hopes to develop a wave catcher 10 times more power than the current technology.
The NRC team aims to develop a power harvester that could store up 50 milliwatts of energy, up from the prototype's five milliwatt capacity. The article mentions that 50 milliwatts opens up a range of electronic devices to a life without a plug, as most MP3 players only use 100 milliwatts to operate.
Of course, the technology faces serious technical challenges relating to the efficiency of the harvester, but one of the NRC researchers says that this technology could be ready in three or four years. That lead should give us all plenty of time to come up with new excuses for not answering our phone, as "it was out of juice" clearly won't cut it anymore.
[via Technology Review]
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Sooooo much new tech coming out in three to four years. I can't wait!
Imagine if these "power harvesters" were implemented into every applicable electronic device, even the ones that use more electricity than the harvester provides. This could, little by little, significantly reduce plant-produce electricity consumption!
Tesla worked on something like this. He was trying to transmit energy using radio waves.
Good idea scavenging power from the ambient radio waves.
Boatman
i like the iphone charge icon on the nokia phone, would be interesting to see iphone os ported
1. "store up 50 milliwatts" - a watt is not a unit of stored energy, but a unit of power. I assume you mean that the unit can _collect_ up to 50 milliwatts of energy from radio waves. 'Milliwatt-hours' is an unit of energy stored. This is basic physics; shame on you.
2. uh-oh, The battery icon is labelled infinity, but the battery is only 5/6 full... I think my mind just imploded.
Nokia, I hope you will always achieve your goals!
Wow, I would like to see this technology develop to the point where it could be used for small robotic applications and free them from the need to find a recharging station.
Don't get too excited! You do know that if it "absorbs" waves or radio signal, then there is less signal for you! So my WiFi is putting out 50 mw ... if this absorbs 50mw, I have NO signal for all my PCs!
Cool!!!
awesome!
One of the most powerful radio transmitters in NZ is less than 500-metres from me. A number of masts, including one 220 metres high, which transmits thru out the Pacific. Also transmits for a number of local broadcasters.
In this area, RF gets into everything, our phone lines have RF suppressors, and high cost telephones, analogue cordless phones were useless we had to wait for digital cordless phones.
Our area's Dial Up WWW never ran at 56K, but always lower, but once my ISP checked my connection speed from their end, and found I had the fastest WWW in the area, 56K because I had used shielded phone cable and spent time planning its routing thru my home, and until I got my second line, I had a switch to cut out all my phone wiring (and phones)while I was on the WWW. Nowadays I am now on DSL, soon we get local fibre optic. My surfing speed is still restricted at times as NZ has limited bandwidth overseas.
Yet a number of locals, have been fighting the installation of mobile towers, they were satisfied with the first one being moved a mere 200-metres, the second telco has suggested options, of about 200 metres too (they had planed for it to be next to the phone exchange), and height increase of 2 metres. Both began putting in their original towers without public notification, until the protests stopped them just as the foundations were finished, the 3rd Telco setting up a new NZ mobile network, got smart, it told us before putting in the foundations, its location, nobody can moan, its cell tower is to go between the 220 metre high radio mast and the homes.
Back in the '60s, maybe in PS or PM magazine, somebody wrote about building a crystal radio with a amplifier, able to run a small speaker. This amplifier took its power off the air as there was no power supply, I suspect he just rectified radio signals without tuning, i.e, a second crystal set, but without the ability to tune, or isolate any one signal, giving enough power to run his amplifier.
I am close to stringing up a wire, with a geranium (not silicon) diode and seeing what I get.
Some people, every few years try and get the 220 mast removed citing health hazards, they are unlikely to win, as the mast was here first. I tell them, stop moaning, and make use of all that free power instead.
The mast has been here 60-years, and people 50-years, and nobody has been able to prove that its damaging people's health, there has been no unusual increases in cancer etc. nobody is moving away (not even the protesters in my street) and property values keep going up.
Amazing! This type of tech could revolution the way all mobile devices, not just phones . . are used. Not, only user friendly but green/eco friendly as well. Can't wait for this to become a reality!
-Verblist
Verblist.net
totally awsome!!! if they put a thing like this into an iphone or another major smartphone that phone would be at the top!! i would get one of these to save up on mt electric bill and to help save the environment. but they should find a way to only used the 50mw from sources where it won't afect your computer,tvs, etc. or the 50mw should have been recycled or able to be recycled and used again.
It's amazing that mobile phone with infinite battery backup. How can it possible because energy is neither generate nor destroy, it's only transform from one state to another. I think it is challenge to science.
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Albert Pinto
www.mobilephonesforsale.net.au
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hopefully this thing doesnt create some new type of cancer.
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Respected sir,
first i said congrate to you for this new technology infinte battery....it is a amazing product, and i m studying BE cse in Narasus sarathy institute of technology in salem ,tamilnadu. i want to create new mobile product with charging by BLUETOOTH it is possible or not...? it thing nothing is impossible sir, i m waiting for your pleasant reply
Thanking You,
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vinoth.s
svinnsit@gmail.com
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