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Jun. 18, 2009

Research scientists at the Nokia R&D Center in Cambridge, U.K. have developed a revolutionary new prototype cell phone recharging device that harvests electricity from the electromagnetic energy which emanates from ambient radio waves.

According to Nokia researcher Marrku Rouvala, in its present state, the recharging unit is powerful enough to power a mobile device in standby mode. Rouvala told the MIT Technology Review that current prototypes can harvest 3 to 5 milliwatts of charging power, which is almost twice as much as originally expected.

Rouvala said Nokia’s goal is to eventually create a new prototype that can harvest up to as high as 50 milliwatts, which could recharge a wireless device that is turned off, and hopefully in 3 hours or less.

Overall, legacy wireless technology (read: traditional electricity-powered) is designed with a targeted transmitter and receiver which limit the range of useable radio waves. In contrast, Nokia's new technology being developed captures energy from a wide range of radio communication signals using a wideband receiver that works between 500 megahertz and 10 gigahertz.

That means that it can even capture TV transmission signals and convert them into useful charging power, as it does with radio signals.

The new technology may sound very futuristic, but wireless electricity was first demonstrated by Nikola Tesla as early as 1893.

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags frequently used as antitheft devices are also powered by radio waves and have been around since the 1970’s.

If Nokia is successful at this, and we don't have any reason to think that it won't, it could also create other similar opportunities for other electronic industries as well, not to mention that the technology also has potential in some military applications.

Wireless Industry News also believes that this will encourage other wireless handset makers such as Apple, Motorola and Samsung to follow suit.

This is a major innovative development that we intend to follow very closely. As always, we will keep you posted.

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    This article was featured on Business 5.0 and on Tech Blog.

Source: Nokia.