Like a page torn right out of the government's top secret files on Nikola Tesla, a Nokia research team is working on a
wireless energy harvesting mechanism, which sucks up all that cancer-giving RF floating through the air and turns it into electrical current. Their goal is about to capture about 50 milliwatts of power for "ambient charging" -- which would at least be enough to top off the battery while the phone is off. Unfortunately, right now their current prototypes are only pulling down 3 to 5 milliwatts, and many in the industry are convinced it can't be done (don't worry, Nokia, that's just The Man, keeping you down). To be honest, we're not totally sure were comfortable with the thought that there's enough RF floating around to make this even
theoretically possible, but as we slowly come to grips with our own mortality, we imagine we'd gladly pay an extra $70 or so for the privilege of never having to charge our phone again. Nokia itself isn't over promising: they plan on supplementing this juice with solar power, and thinks it'll be three or four years until it makes its way into a handset -- probably around the time your existing iPhone contract dries up.
[Thanks, CanisMinor]
posted Jun 9th 2009 4:14PM
what happens when everything starts using RF?
Stand Back !! I'm Going To Try .....SCIENCE!
Really cool idea if it ever works.
As long as my phone charges before the cancer kills me, am ok with it.
Wouldn't count on that...
Who is John Galt?
Sounds like interesting technology. Even in the 1950s, Ayn Rand evidently saw where the world was heading.
WSJ - 'Atlas Shrugged': From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123146363567166677.html
I hate Ayn Rand.
@phoenix - would you describe yourself as "progressive"? :)
You... they... What?
You must be joking. I almost gagged reading that article.
THAT iPhone reference was unnecessary.
Completely agree. Why, Paul... why?
I don't think I've ever considered switching exclusively to a competitor's blog as much as I have today, and now this comes along.
So let's see... wireless cell charging = IPHONE IPHONE IPHONE
Why?!
I guess they assume everyone that reads the site MUST have an iPhone? That last line definitely made me do a double take - not only are they assuming you have an iPhone, they assume that you also somehow signed up for a 3-4 year contract on it ... do those even exist?
@AutumnBringer:
Welcome to sarcasm. I see this is your first visit, so please enjoy your stay.
Such contracts do not exist in the US. It was a dig on needing to renew contracts for the new iPhone. It was anti-i, you just can't see past the rage enough to realise that.
I don't get it Robot, I've visited sarcasm before, why would you only welcome me now?
Agreed,
This is a shameless plug.
Paul and the rest of the Engadget crew have their noses so far up Apple's ass that they can't thing objectively anymore.
They should design a Cell phone tower that, in addition to voice and data, can also send your phone juice.
and cancer...
It's ok, I've got that covered. Tin foil hats? They've got nothing on my pure lead helmet and body armor...
Cancer Jokes are Old
http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/0952-4746/21/2/609
Well, if the Danish studied it in 2001, it MUST be true!
: )
And just in time too! All this sexting is really killing my battery!
Bad shoop, nice idea.
Holy crap Engadget took a shot at Apple!!1!!!!1 Somebody write this date in the calendar :D
More of a shot at AT&T than apple....
Whatever. Another Nokia promise that will NEVER come to fruition. I know this company well enough at this point.
You must have a super-strong neck, great for headbanging parties.
And the comment system bites again!! That was meant for B3astofthe3ast
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/3621/97980072.jpg
Lolwut?
Maybe they are fixing the comment system?
Never mind, that will happen probably around the time their existing iPhone contract dries up.
Please, put the "solar energy for smartphones" research to an end. Even I spent more time outdoors, which I don't, my phone stays indoors (in my pocket, backpack...etc)
Focus on the wireless thing, it sounds a lot more promising.
Here is one of the more intelligent posts in support of this type of research:
http://www.rense.com/general63/freee.htm
Free energy is nonsense.
love a charging table :)
I've had a nightlight/flashlight from Costco that uses the same technology, for the past year.
alright so 3-5 milliwatts per minute im assuming? thats 180 millwats per hour, lets suppose its a 1000 mah battery
according to wolframAlpha: http://www30.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=180+milliwatts+%2F+1000+milli+amps+per+hour
if i get this right itll charge 0.18% of the battery an hour, i think my phone drains it faster than it would charge
do i got the math right?
even assuming 50 millwatts per hour i think 0.03% battery charge per hour is still pretty low then again if its running 24 hours a day that means the battery will charge itself 72% a day every day with the remaining 30% depending on a standard outlet.
please provide any corrections if you see a flaw in my logic
Assume 50mW comes out at the battery voltage - usually 3.7v for a lithium ion battery. 0.050 watts divided by 3.7 volts is 0.0135 amps. Your 1000mAh battery would fully charge if given 1 amp for 1 hour. That means that trickle charging like this would take 1 / 0.0135 = 74
hours.
In the 16 hours per day that I'm carrying my cell phone, that's a nearly 22% increase in life. They're better off figuring out a way to make the radio come on less often or use less power when it does, but 22% is nothing to scoff at. If they can pull in 50mW, that would be great. I just don't think they're going to do quite so well.
As long as a phone lasts all day, I don't mind charging it at night. My bigger complaint is a battery that degrades over the 2 year service contract to last less than what I need. I would rather see higher quality, slightly lower initial capacity batteries that don't degrade as much.
Watt = POWER = Energy/Time.
Phone batteries are generally listed in mAh, which when multiplied by the Voltage is energy. I believe most cell phone batteries operate at 3.7V .
Thus a 1000 mAh battery, which is another way of saying 1 Amp Hour Battery has 3.7 Watt hours of Energy. 3.7 W*Hr / ( 0.005 W) = 740 Hours.
If Nokia can get that up to 50 mW, then you're looking at 74 hours, which essentially means you could prolong battery life. I know theres a legal limit on how much Power the FCC allows you to pull out of the air waves, and there are different licenses, so this may not work that well here in the US.
I did a little IEEE document searching. It seems that the amount of radiated power even in the vicinity of a cell tower is on order of 0.1 milliwatts per square meter. That's not much. Granted that's on the ground, quite far from the antenna... but that's where my phone is too!
If you manage to integrate all of the power over all of the bands hitting your phone, you might get something measurable in the small area of a cell phone. I just don't think that Nokia is ever going to pull 50mW out of something the size of a cell phone.
They aren't talking about specific frequency's here, they're talking about all the glorious RF flying through the air all the time.
How about a built in solar panel on the back of a phone? ;)
this coming from the people that cant even get decent apps in the app store..
But can get more than one app to run at once
When did plugging something in become a trek up Mount Everest?
Solar power? The sun shines like 20% of the year here in Finland (not counting nights), they would fail miserably in their home land :D
Meanwhile Apple will introduce a charging method that uses Steve Jobs' sheer awesomeness to power every iPhone in the world.
well the way he's going with his physical health, i wouldn't want to buy it
Are talking about a perpetual motion machine? Is the phone going to suck up it's own RF signal to stay charged?
Hmm back this up with some piezo-electric(spelling?) cells and solar cells and you might have something going.
Tesla FTW!