RCA Airnergy Pulls Power From Thin Air, Charging Your Phone With Ambient Wi-Fi Signals

RCA Airnergy Pulls Power From Thin Air, Charging Your Phone With Ambient Wi-Fi Signals

www.popsci.com

CES may be over, but in our post-technalia hangover we’re still discovering a few small wonders that flew under the radar last week, not least of which is this RCA Airnergy, a small USB device that harvests electrical power from Wi-Fi signals. Anytime the device is in the vicinity of one or more Wi-Fi sources, the Airnergy is charging, converting the wireless antenna signal into DC current that can power myriad small electronics. The idea isn’t novel, but this is the first time anyone has created a commercial product efficient enough to be useful.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Imagine a TV remote that never needs new batteries, or an Ebook reader that will last (insert arbitrarily long timeframe here) without being plugged in. It would be huge for devices that are low power consumers to begin with. I wonder if this would work in cities with citiwide wireless internet coverage.

I dont know what to think about this. If this degrades the quality of the wifi signal then it could be considered stealing.

www.popsci.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by joyride0187


Very interestesting stuff, yet the first law of thermodynamics comes to mind, perhaps better known in the vernacular as "you can't get something for nothing." No free lunches in this sad cosmos; somebody's got to pay somehow.

My guess is that if enough people start using this it will be considered stealing, either by degrading the signal as you noted, or by virtue of the fact that its just a wireless version of the old illegal trick of tapping into somebody else's power line.

Still, its quite a neat little trick.

[edit on 1/16/10 by silent thunder]

Cool news. Star and Flag.

Kinda reminds me of Wardenclyffe Tower.

I guess i will turn off my wifi to keep my power from being stolen.

Don't you love it when companies sell equipment to people allowing them to steal from you.

reply to post by ANNED


Guess what.. The power doesn't belong to you anyway. No more than the wind does. It belongs to the Earth and we just borrow it. Greedy thought process you've got there.

There is energy all around us; we could "harvest" by stringing up an antenna and wiring up a circuit, and discharging it into a battery. (simplified description) Energy doesn't have to come from WiFi signals. Think about lightning and stuff, there is some energy out there in the atmosphere. Not saying you need to try and harness a lightening bolt and blow yourself up, or anything, but it's out there.

Troy

How can you say I am greedy. So by your logic then I guess its morally ok to hook up to your neighbors power box just so you can get free electricity.

reply to post by joyride0187


You know what, I don't like all these invisible sources of energy and information flying through the air, in my air, in my space, without my permission. We sooo need to back up instead of go forward with all this senseless useless crap on the phones these days. Technology is ruining the quality of life, why continue to make it easier to do that?

[edit on 16-1-2010 by space cadet]

Seems like a good idea, if even a half-a$$ed attempt at wireless energy. It certainly seems like a stepping-stone technology that could definitely inspire other avenues of study and invention...at the same time pacifying our corporate masters (they still make money) into letting this tech pass bean-counter muster.

It will simply mean that people learn more (oh noes) about their wireless router's/gateway's/modem's security settings. The people who still don't care, will be leached from...but just about every wireless transmitter most of us use have W.E.P. (Wireless Equivalent Privacy) security and/or the ability to require password-only access to their wireless signal.

To me, the benefits, and more to the point, the potential descendant ideas of this technology, could bring far more advancement than we're currently able to manifest due to corporate pressure forcing the perpetuation of the dark ages.

I need one of these in my 360 controller, telephone, and compass!
Can't wait for the implications of this new majegger. Imagine in 20 years what this world will be like, set aside the end and all.

Originally posted by joyride0187
How can you say I am greedy. So by your logic then I guess its morally ok to hook up to your neighbors power box just so you can get free electricity.

That’s a lot different.
Its more like my neighbor set his sprinkler to water his garden and set the spray so it goes past his garden into my yard and my garden.

He should keep his water in his own yard if he doesn’t want to water my garden

Originally posted by Digital_Reality
reply to post by ANNED

 

Guess what.. The power doesn't belong to you anyway. No more than the wind does. It belongs to the Earth and we just borrow it. Greedy thought process you've got there.

What a BS statement, he pays money for the electricity used to charge his battery.

If his battery is drained by use of this technology, it will cost him, and it can be a major inconvenience.

Can you give him some money, it's just paper, made from trees, it belongs to the Earth and stuff..., we just borrow it and stuff...

Originally posted by Digital_Reality
reply to post by ANNED

 

Guess what.. The power doesn't belong to you anyway. No more than the wind does. It belongs to the Earth and we just borrow it. Greedy thought process you've got there.

Utility companies generate the electricity in power stations, this electricity is then wired to your home through what are known as power lines, which are also operated by utilities. It is then sold to generate a profit, and pay expenses (including wages), because building and using the electrical infrastructure is not free. You don't get something for nothing, nor will people work for nothing. Simple. If you are leaching electrical power from somebody else who is paying for it (without their permission), then it is by definition stealing.

I should add, it is unclear just how much energy WIFI signals put out or if the charger operates only on ambient signals whereby the emitters power level is not increased (I think that is the case). If the emitters power level is not increased over normal levels, then I do not think it is stealing at all. It might be if the emitters power level increased, but apparently it is an "ambient" charger so this probably does not happen... i.e. the power would be transmitted and wasted in thin air otherwise. So I doubt it would classify as stealing at all. Is this what you meant?

FYI, the wind is not man-made, it does not have infrastructure, it does not provide jobs, nor does it need maintenance. With your logic nobody owns anything thus you are justified in stealing anything you want.

[edit on 16/1/2010 by C0bzz]

reply to post by joyride0187


NWO plan. once evreyone is high tech they can control us better. think about it they can just shut off satellites and electricity and we are all going to sit there and be like

reply to post by pavelivanov22


Exactly! Take a cell phone away from even a 10 yr old now and they freak out. There is no use of imagination, and we are bombarded with unseen forces every day like wifi ! Hell who needs conspiracy of destruction and death, we create our own reality of misuse that is a horror of our own making. False realities seemingly dominate life now! When are people gonna realize that technology does not equal happiness and it reduces our life span and the quality of the life we live.

Originally posted by space cadet
You know what, I don't like all these invisible sources of energy and information flying through the air, in my air, in my space, without my permission. We sooo need to back up instead of go forward with all this senseless useless crap on the phones these days. Technology is ruining the quality of life, why continue to make it easier to do that?

Pretty soon, they will be frying us all in microwaves as they attempt to pack more and more information into smaller and smaller wavelengths.

I once read that the ambient electromagnetic field from an average-sized house has a greater effect on a human inside the house than the earth's entire magnetic field. That's not to say the magnetic field of a home is larger than the earth's total field, of course, but its more concentrated and "in your face" as a dweller. All this started less than 100 years ago when we began wiring up everything in sight. I very much doubt our nervous systems are meant to handle that. We know so little about the brain's electrical aspects...just think of what all this electricity is doing to our poor old skulls.

reply to post by silent thunder


It is worriesome, it has to be unhealthy it is so unatural! And we have no choice! As I sit here waves of who knows what pound my body and my brain, and we want to bitch about a scan at the airport, which is for our own safety, but beg for more technology to do who knows what to us? IMO not too bright!

Why isn't anyone questioning this, this is obviously a hoax or a joke or something

A wifi hotspot puts out 100mW of power and each receiver only gets a small fraction of that 100mW. To charge a lithium ion battery pack of a cell phone, would literally take tens of years if you could harvest 100% of the output power from the transmitter

reply to post by space cadet


Technology reduces life span? I beg to differ... overall, it has greatly increased both the quality and length of our lives. Agreed that too much radiation can possibly have a bad effect.



[edit on 16/1/2010 by C0bzz]