INKJET TECHNOLOGY TURNS RADIO WAVES INTO POWERED ENERGY

[Anonymous]

INKJET TECHNOLOGY TURNS RADIO WAVES INTO POWERED ENERGY

Turning radio waves into power (with circuits printed on paper)
Researchers at Georgia Tech have found a way to harvest energy from electromagnetic waves in the air. The harvesting devices are produced using an inkjet printer and can collect small amounts of power from a wide band of frequencies–everything from FM radio up to radar.

The technology isn’t new—researchers have floated concepts (and a few devices) that can harvest energy from ambient WiFi signals and other small sources, but these are usually able to pull power only from tiny slices of the electromagnetic spectrum (perhaps just a few KHz). The new system can draw energy from much wider electromagnetic swaths: 100MHz to 15GHz.

Even better, the sensors that harvest the energy are simple to make. To print the circuits on paper or paper-like polymers, the researchers use an inkjet printer and add an emulsion of nanoparticles. Circuits printed on polymers are currently less advanced, but the scientists say they have a wider range and can harvest energy from frequencies up to 60GHz.

Gadgets such as cell phones could one day use residual radio signal to supplement their own batteries, but the amounts of energy harvested are small (on the order of 50 milliwatts) and the system won’t currently make even small consumer devices self-sustaining.

However, if the energy is allowed to build up in a small capacitor, it could temporarily power low-energy intermittent devices like temperature sensors or could supplement other energy-gathering mechanisms like solar panels. The harvesters could also function as mission-critical stopgaps, allowing a system to maintain essential functions or send out a distress signal until it can be fixed.

http://www.sync-blog.com/sync/2011/07/flexible-printable-antennas-create-electricity-from-thin-air.html
Imagine being able to print a device on a piece of paper that can turn the radio frequencies all around you into electricity. It’s not science fiction any more.
Solar technology has become much less expensive to reduce in the last couple years, and that has led to the introduction of all kinds of eco-friendly creations that can power our electronic devices. But harnessing solar energy isn’t the only way to generate power out of thin air.

Companies like RCA have been working on ways to harness the radio waves that are floating all around us. The company’s Airnergy was shown off at CES 2010, touting its ability to charge any USB-equipped device by tapping into ambeint Wi-Fi signals in our homes and offices. RCA even plans on integrating the technology directly into the batteries themselves.

A group at the Georgia Instititue of Technology has taken this concept a bit further, developing power-harvesting antennas that are capable of tuning in to signals from FM radio all the way up to the same Wi-Fi signals used by the Airnergy. The GIT group’s creation, however, is extremely low cost — with antenna units capable of being printed onto paper or plastic using modified inkjet technology.

Right now, the antennas can only scrounge up very small amounts of electricity — up to about one milliwatt. The research team states that it’s enough to power structural sensors in buildings and personal medical monitoring devices — where they might be a nice compliment to the wearable generators Phil talked about back in April. Right now, research is focused on harnessing electromagnetic energy in places like hospitals to produce power other (presumably low-power) medical devices.

Let’s hope this technology continues advancing at a rapid pace — so the whole world can become our Powermat and we’ll never again have to deal with tangled masses of transformers to charge our gadgets.

[Author]

July 21, 2011 at 7:54 AM