While the technology isn’t quite here yet, Nokia’s research center located at Cambridge has recently announced that they’re working on a way for cell phones to actually pull energy out of the air. No, it’s not magic, although it does seem like it. 
These cell phones will actually pick up the ambient radio and television waves that are bouncing all around us. These waves don’t really do much of anything at the moment, but if Nokia has its way, they’ll power our phones.
The Nokia phone will be able to pick up more than just radio and television waves. If all goes according to play, it will be able to use wave frequencies generated by microwaves, wireless networks, GPS devices, and more. The concept is that two circuits will be able to receive these waves and then convert them into an electrical current. Don’t worry—these phones won’t suck away your wireless internet or cause your GPS to fail. They’ll simply make use of the wasted power these waves represent. Most of these waves are absorbed or just scattered about.
There’s no word yet on just how much power this cell phone will be able to pull from the air, but Nokia is hoping it will be enough to at least charge up the phone in standby mode. Most likely, the first models won’t be able to provide enough charge to keep the phone going while in use, so you’ll still need your charger. I’m hoping Nokia comes through with this—imagine it being used on iPods, GPS systems, and more. We might never need a charger again!
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on Jun 18th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Wow, that almost sounds like something from a science fiction movie. I can’t wait until it comes out!