Smartphones Drawing Power From Thin Air: Is It Possible?

in #science7 years ago

Yes, the good news is - phones getting charged with power from thin air is very much possible.

Introduction:

You will be quite relieved to know this. There will come a time in the future when you need not go through the hassle of charging your phones everyday - at all if you are a heavy user, or at least once in two or three days if you use your phone sparingly. Sounds like magic?

Charging your phones will be a thing of the past once the new technology is introduced in the future.

Since the introduction of mobile phones there has been an increasing need for power as phones progressed to feature phones and then smartphones. In fact the latest smartphones in the market need several times more power than the first few smartphones that were launched just a few years ago.

There does not go a single day when I do not have to charge my phones and my tab - I keep several phones for various purposes(including an iPhone for using Apple's fantastic apps). The reason being the apps that I use on a daily basis take the charge out of phones very quickly.

There is an app for just about everything from writing notes to running. Most people use some app or the other all the time draining the battery until it needs recharging.

The technology itself is based on backscatter which involves making use of radio waves in the air. Also called passive wifi. It is in the initial stages of research but is definitely moving in the right direction. In fact the first test call has already been made using this technology. The call was made from a phone without a battery to an android phone.

The people responsible for taking this forward is a team of researchers at the University of Washington. Backscatter technology itself is not completely new since it was used during the Cold War to power spy kits.

The challenge that is being addressed is the huge amount of power that smartphones use. Turning human conversation into a set of digital signals does consume a lot of power - something that is being worked upon. For example, power is drawn from ambient light by converting it with photo diodes and solar panels. Other things lone wifi and TV transmissions can also be converted with an antenna. But even multiple sources like these may not satisfy the power hungry smartphones.

There is a lot more research to be done. The current test phone only has a small touchscreen and one LED light so signify when keys are pressed. Voice calls can be held only one way like it happens on walkie talkies. Voice call quality has to be improved. Sending text messages will also be provisioned with the use of e-ink.

Other features like a camera will also be added once the technology has been improved. Hopefully, once the technology is fully developed you will be able to enjoy all the features that you have presently on your phone.

Conclusion:



There is no doubt that by using battery less phones the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. For one, you will never have to worry about losing battery charge on your phone again. Besides these phones will be much cheaper than the present phones especially once they are manufactured in large numbers.

What do you think? Would you prefer battery less phones even if they have a few features less as compered to smartphones? Please comment below.

Thanks for reading, and follow me for more!

Image Sources: Pixabay, Giphy

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