We all enjoy the ease of wireless technologies, but now a British start-up plans to make our wireless networks into a power source for our homes.
Drayson Technologies has created the Freevolt energy harvester, a device that can capture the power from low-energy radio waves created by wireless devices to create a wireless power supply, according to CNET.
Futurists expect our homes will soon be filled with computer-embedded smart devices, from self-monitoring trash bins to light-sensing window shades and more. But thinking about how we will power the “Internet of Things” without batteries or plugs has been a challenge.
Now Freevolt has solved the problems of low-power wireless technology. The device harvests energy across a wide range of radio frequencies and efficiently converts the energy into a current. A power management system captures even tiny amounts of spare energy from wireless systems.
The device is about the size of a cell phone, but the thickness of a credit card. Drayson hopes to make it even smaller, so we may one day have a wearable version that will provide an ongoing energy supply for our smart phones and other mobile devices.