Nokia powering up self-charging cell phone
No more telling Mom you can't talk because your cell phone is "about to die"--it soon could be charging itself as you speak.
The Nokia Research Centre in Cambridge, England, is working on a prototype system that would eliminate the traditional cell phone charger.
"I can't talk, my phone is charging...oh, wait."
(Credit: Nokia)The system collects energy from ambient radio waves emitted by antennas, TV masts, Wi-Fi transmitters, and the like. This might all sound uber-scientific, but we've been using this technology for years. Have you ever exited a store, only to hear the beep, beep, beep of an accusing alarm system? Many retailers use radio frequency identification to prevent theft and track inventory. Like RFID tags, the Nokia phones would catch radio waves across a range of frequencies, harnessing them for power.
Nokia's goal is to get cell phones to harvest about 50 milliwatts of power. Currently the prototypes are able to harvest up to 5 milliwatts, but at least 20 milliwatts is needed to keep phones running in standby mode indefinitely without the need for a recharge, the U.K.'s Guardian reports in an article on Nokia's research.
We're not quite sure what features 50 milliwatts could power: music playing? 3G Internet browsing? As consumers increase their business- and entertainment-related dependency on cell phones, Nokia might have to adjust its 50-milliwatt goal. For a more functional lifestyle device, the phone would need to be paired with a solar-paneled case, or even an occasional wired charge.
The Nokia Research Centre has said the technology will take three to five years to develop. Though this would presumably be the first time electromagnetic radiation is applied to a mainstream consumer product, wireless charging has already hit the market. This month, Palm introduced a wireless charger, the Touchstone, for its much-anticipated Palm Pre.
The Touchstone uses a method referred to as inductive charging. The electric toothbrush is one of the most common devices that applies this technology.
Sharon Vaknin is the CNET Labs' go-to intern. When she's not testing MP3 players, blogging, or making the lab look presentable, she can be found playing computer games. Sharon formerly worked for Best Buy and is currently studying journalism at San Francisco State University. E-mail Sharon. 
Tesla did have a working system, but two of his assistants were badly electricuted, and several cows were killed before he was ordered to take it down.
1. Infinite standby time. This alone would make the technology worth it IMO.
2. Trickle charging. The 30 miliwatts above what's needed for standby could be used to (very slowly) charge the phone. My math is probably off, but I think it would take about 30 hours to charge 750 mAh battery at this rate.
You'd probably still want to have a charger as a backup, but very cool, anyway.
I'm starting to think that those so called 'nut cases' who run around wearing aluminum foil hats may actually be more sane than we all realize.
Let us all be thankful that tinfoil hat nutjobs identify themselves with handles that signify an agenda.
That being said cell towers are not 100% safe (RF energy wise) and no one should remain near 10 meters of one for any duration of days. But since RF energy dissipates according to the inverse square law, the risk zone is fairly small. Please inform yourselves by talking with an RF engineer if you truly believe otherwise.
How about developing tiny solar panels to fit on or in the outer covers of the phones ? For all cell phone owners, especially those in third world countries .. sunlight is free !
- by BethBTRx August 29, 2009 8:06 PM PDT
- This could be a business travelers best friend!!!!
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