2009-06-15

Ambient Power for Cell Phones

Clipped from: Nokia developing phone that recharges itself without mains electricity | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Clipped from: Technology Review: Wireless Power Harvesting for Cell Phones

Technology Review - Published By MIT

Wireless Power Harvesting for Cell Phones

Nokia hopes to create a device that could harvest enough power to keep a cell phone topped up.

A cell phone that never needs recharging might sound too good to be true, but Nokia says it's developing technology that could draw enough power from ambient radio waves to keep a cell-phone handset topped up.

Ambient electromagnetic radiation--emitted from Wi-Fi transmitters, cell-phone antennas, TV masts, and other sources--could be converted into enough electrical current to keep a battery topped up, says Markku Rouvala, a researcher from the Nokia Research Centre, in Cambridge, U.K.


Clipped from: NRC Cambridge UK laboratory | Nokia Research Center



NRC Cambridge UK laboratory develops nanotechnologies for mobile communication and ambient intelligence. Studying physical, chemical and biological phenomena and manipulation of matter at the nanoscale enables generation of knowledge for enhancing human capabilities.


Scope of Nokia nanoscience and nanotechnology research.

Clipped from: Nano Devices, Cambridge UK | Nokia Research Center
Home > Research > Laboratories > NRC Cambridge UK laboratory > Nano Devices, Cambridge UK

Research topics

  • [...]
  • Enhanced energy and power capacity in mobile devices: As mobile devices become ever more capable and thus power-hungry, one key issue becomes increasingly important: the storage and efficient use of energy. In practical terms, this translates as the development of energy storage media that are able to provide more energy, both more quickly (for responsive operation) and for longer (less recharging needed) whilst occupying a smaller space. In addition, what if such devices could also harvest their own power without needing mains recharging? Here too, nanotechnology has an enabling role to play; electrodes incorporating nanostructures can to be fabricated with hugely-enhanced surface areas providing significantly increased charge-storing capacity. In this project, the University of Cambridge's great strength in novel nanomaterial synthesis, and their previous work developing polymer-carbon nanotube composites with controlled conduction is used to fabricate and test nanotube-enhanced supercapacitors and nanocomposite solar cells - all essential ingredients in a coherent approach to improved energy handling.

Sources:
  1. Nokia developing phone that recharges itself without mains electricity | Environment | guardian.co.uk
  2. Technology Review: Wireless Power Harvesting for Cell Phones
  3. NRC Cambridge UK laboratory | Nokia Research Center
  4. Nano Devices, Cambridge UK | Nokia Research Center
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