Nokia developing phone that recharges wirelessly

[Lazar]

From the Guardian:

A new prototype charging system from the company is able to power itself on nothing more than ambient radiowaves - the weak TV, radio and mobile phone signals that permanently surround us. The power harvested is small but it is almost enough to power a mobile in standby mode indefinitely without ever needing to plug it into the mains, according to Markku Rouvala, one of the researchers who developed the device at the Nokia Research Centre in Cambridge, UK.

[Tsukiyumi]

Wow. That's honestly impressive. I wonder how it works?

[Teaos]

Wow just shows how much power we are throwing out there.

[Aaron]

Wow. That's honestly impressive. I wonder how it works?

Induction. The same way my Xbox controller recharges.

[Tsukiyumi]

Wow. That's honestly impressive. I wonder how it works?

Induction. The same way my Xbox controller recharges.

Neat.

If it's going to give us all cancer, it might as well be useful for something.

[Monroe]

Wires are going to be a thing of the past.

[Sionnach Glic]

That's pretty damn cool. Let's hope it doesn't dose us all with radiation.

[Tyyr]

Passive system, absorbing ambient EM radiation. So no, it won't.

I'm curious to see if this manages to work. The actual power output in the air is incredibly low. Also, I wonder what the effect of thousands of these things would be all sapping signals of strength.

[Aaron]

Passive system, absorbing ambient EM radiation. So no, it won't.

I'm curious to see if this manages to work. The actual power output in the air is incredibly low. Also, I wonder what the effect of thousands of these things would be all sapping signals of strength.

Well the article states that it's barely enough to charge it while in standby mode. Maybe it would work better if you lived right next to a substation or something but this seems more like a tech demonstrator then anything practical.

[Teaos]

If a bunch of these were really close to the transmitter maybe, but a few spread around the place shouldnt matter to much.

[Tyyr]

Not really near the transmitter I think. They could sap some but they simply wouldn't be able to pull in that much charge. What I'm thinking is more along the lines of you sitting down at Starbucks and trying to use your WiFi while a half dozen people with their phones are between you and the router.

[Coalition]

I'd settle for it being a demo technology, where they are showing that you can recharge something small via induction.

Later on you get the Traveler nightstand tables, where you put your phone and other electronic gizmos before you go to sleep, and the table has a field that recharges them automatically.

[thelordharry]

Wow. That's honestly impressive. I wonder how it works?

Induction. The same way my Xbox controller recharges.

and my electronic toothy brush