Last Friday, Intel said it is researching technology to harvest free energy from the environment, which could lead to devices such as mobile phones running for indefinite periods without recharging.
The company is working on tiny sensors that can capture energy from sources such as sunlight and body heat. In the future, such energy could be used to power personal electronic devices such as cell phones.
Some examples of this:
There are already watches available that are powered by body heat, as well as prototype smart phones with display screens that double as solar cells, said Justin Rattner, chief technology officer at Intel, during a press event.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if, in fact, you were able to go almost indefinitely without charging the battery, if you were able to scavenge enough free energy from the environment?”
As an example, an accelerometer buried in the wall of a building could automatically recharge itself by harvesting the energy of radiation from a cell phone tower, allowing it to continuously take and transmit readings of the building’s movement.
Sensors use just a fraction of the power demanded by typical mobile devices, and it may take a while before the energy-harvesting technology can power larger items.
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