New Charger Harvests Energy from Wi-Fi Signals
Jan 12, 2010, 1:37 PM by Eric M. Zeman
RCA recently showcased a new charging product called the Airnergy Charger that collects Wi-Fi signals, converts them to electricity, and uses that electricity to power a small internal battery. The charger can then be plugged into a device such as a mobile phone via USB and provide it with a charge. The device is always on and collecting Wi-Fi signals, so it is always charging (when near Wi-Fi hot spots). According to RCA, the Airnergy Charger will be available by summer 2010 with a retail cost of about $40.
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Comments
I'm sure there are plenty of pros and cons, but...
...I think this sounds like a seriously cool product! 😁
RCA Though?
I was unaware of RCA getting involved in the wireless industry. Good for them though this is a great idea from a longtime company that had some great tech in the past. 😉
yes, and you will develop cancer. lol. if you think about it. its just wi-fi until it hits the device which converts it into power. So if its right next to you, the only thing hitting you is the wi-fi signal that is hitting either way.
Of course it will. It's well documented that just like the magnifying-glass-like concentrated 800-watt stream of microwave radiation a microwave oven pushes, the omnidirectional 1-watt signal of a WiFi is more than enough power to give your grandkids ...
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"This device is 100% completely safe. In fact, if you talk on the phone while it's plugged in, it will enable the device to sync with your brain and harvest energy directly from your body!"
No thanks. This sounds like a terrible idea. 😕
No thanks. This sounds like a terrible idea. 😕
but if they make wi-fi hotspots more efficient... / billing?
Funny how this comes out at the same time that an industry group has recognized how much power wi-fi hotspots (among other telecom infrastructure) waste, and is trying to reduce that energy waste:
http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/10/01/12/1628216/Be ... »
So if there's all this excess energy in the air, should it simply be curtailed, or harnessed? If it's harnessed for wireless battery charging, the next logical question is who pays? Do we need a billing standard? Could you choose to charge your phone just by sitting in a Starbucks, and have the electricity cost billed to your Starbucks card? (Or AT&T bill?)
http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/10/01/12/1628216/Be ... »
So if there's all this excess energy in the air, should it simply be curtailed, or harnessed? If it's harnessed for wireless battery charging, the next logical question is who pays? Do we need a billing standard? Could you choose to charge your phone just by sitting in a Starbucks, and have the electricity cost billed to your Starbucks card? (Or AT&T bill?)
or... how much bandwidth does this device waste?
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I'm sure they could attempt to pass cost on to customers in a setting like a Starbucks. But they could only do so by raising costs of their coffee, drinks, and baked goods. They can't really charge you for taking advantage of something they broadcast ...
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*Groan* 🙄
What I don't get is why they can do this with ghost electricity from wifi, but not ghost electricity from other appliances also such as HDTVs, Blu-Ray plays, ...and other appliances that emit ghost electricity.
Gosh, this sounds like such cool Star...
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Gosh, this sounds like such cool Star...
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So it won't power laptops? and...
Will it need a wep/wap key?
Will it slow down the network?
If so wouldn't/shouldn't that require a wap/wep key? 🤨
Will it slow down the network?
If so wouldn't/shouldn't that require a wap/wep key? 🤨
From what I've seen, no. Since it's not trying to "read" the information it's just taking whatever RF is there and converting it. Kind of like solar power.
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