Crazy, Cool and Weird Stuff

In recent years, many advancement in wireless technology have been made. Among the advancement includes the wireless electricity. And last month, Apple Inc, a giant in computer industry applied a pattern for wireless charger. Today, we were amazed by achievement made by Professor Manos Tentzeris and his research team about a device that can harvest the random electromagnetic waves around us.

Professor Manoz Tentzaris with sensors and spiral antenna for energy scavenging applications.

What Prof Manos and his team did was they used inkjet printers to combine sensors, antennas, and energy scavenging capability on a paper or flexible polymers. By using this scavenging devices, the team managed to capture energy transmitted by various communication devices such as mobile phone or or radio frequency. The energy captured will be converted to DC from AC and is stored in capacitors. As for now, the device is believed to be able to capture a wide range of frequency ranging from 100 MegaHertz to 15 GigaHertz.
( From an FM radio frequency to radar frequency).

Radio Frequency Infra Red - a device that could very much use the energy-scavenging application.

Combination of this device with a so called "super capacitors", the team tried to power up a device using energy gained from various frequencies, stored them in the capacitors and eventually the power will be used and utilized by the device. As for now, this team has successfully operated a sensor using electromagnetic power given by a television station located half a kilometer from the device. One more good thing from this energy-scavenging device is that if the frequency range fades, the system in the device will exploit other frequencies for its own use.

Prof Manoz and his team hoped that with the creation of energy scavenging device, many other self powered and wireless based device can be made. So far this device can be used in creating a sensor in tight security area such as airport where the multiple sensors are used to identify potential threat. Hopefully, a more sophisticated device can be made by harvesting all the energy around us.

Imagine having a smaller and tighter security system in places like airport would be very much helpful.

Source:
 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-07-ambient-electromagnetic-energy-harnessed-small.html
 http://www.scimag.com/news-ambient-electromagnetic-energy-harnessed-for-small-070611.aspx