Wireless device grabs ‘lost’ energy from wi-fi
Posted by staff / November 8, 2013
Above, a five-cell metamaterial array converts stray microwave energy, as from a Wi-Fi hub, into more than 7 volts of power with an efficiency of 36.8 percent—comparable to a solar cell.
Using inexpensive materials configured and tuned to capture microwave signals, researchers have designed a power-harvesting device with efficiency similar to that of modern solar panels.
The device wirelessly converts the microwave signal to direct current voltage capable of recharging a cell phone battery or other small electronic device,
“The beauty of the design is that the basic building blocks are self-contained and additive. One can simply assemble more blocks to increase the scavenged power,” says Steven Cummer, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke University.
Full story at Futurity.
Photo credit: Duke
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