R&D tipped us off about fascinating research the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is pursuing. Their report suggests MIT scientists have developed a flexible device that converts energy from Wi-Fi signals into electricity. If they are correct, then this WI-FI energy source could theoretically replace the batteries in our phones.
Is This Wi-Fi Energy Source the End of Smartphone Batteries?
However, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology research is still at a formative stage. Nevertheless it makes for interesting reading. Moreover. their theory might have become possible after researchers developed a new kind of ‘rectenna’ as R&D describes it.
The term ‘rectenna’ had us googling. Then we discovered this WI-FI energy source is a special type of antenna. It is normally used to convert electromagnetic energy into alternating current. However, this time the MIT antenna “uses a flexible radio-frequency antenna to capture electromagnetic waves as direct current waveforms” instead. Therefore the MIT researchers appear to have entered a new energy dimension.
Would This Allow a Passive Device to Capture DC Power?
R&D says “This setup will enable a battery-free device to passively capture and transform ubiquitous Wi-Fi signals into DC power”. Moreover, “The flexibility allows the device to be fabricated in a roll-to-roll process that can cover substantially large areas.”
They pose the possibility of accumulating energy in buildings, highways and bridges. They may have a point. Co-author Jesús Grajal at the Technical University of Madrid says, “It is much better to harvest energy from the environment. Because we can use it to power up small devices. Even small labs inside the body that communicate data to external computers.”
The MIT scientists replaced silicon and gallium arsenide in their ‘rectennas’ with molybdenum disulfide three atoms thick. Their WI-FI energy source produces sufficient energy to power a simple mobile phone display, or silicon chips.
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Preview Image: Phones on the Metro
