While modern cell phones claim to be wireless, their poor battery life forces us to connect them to a wired charger after every few hours, and it is quite a headache. A cell phone company claims that they have found a novel solution to this problem while reducing the cost of batteries as well. Their new technology was recently patented to harvest good FM transmissions on cell phones, and the company says that it has the potential to increase the battery life tremendously.
Radiant, a new micro tech company, aims to do this by integrating an antenna on the phones that will be used to pick up unused FM transmissions. These signals will then be converted back into reusable energy.
Every cell phone’s cellular functions operate via receiving and sending codes over a cellular network. However, the problem is that the phone continues to transmit these signals even when you are not sending any data, thus taking its toll on your battery. This new solution is based on the reduction of gargantuan battery consumption via the patented antenna that recycles used energy.
The company said in a report that they are first to introduce such a concept. They aim to re-purpose a cell phone’s surface and convert it into an energy harvesting antenna that can absorb and reuse its own wasted radiated power, thus extending the battery life. They also said that their concept would reduce battery cost by $0.5 to $1.00 per phone.
While explaining their product’s salient features, the company said that this antenna concept will not only reduce battery depletion but will also trickle charge the battery, thus dramatically increasing its life.
The general concept behind this technology is that the antenna uses the minute yet highly concentrated FM signal to create a magnetic field by utilizing the variant frequencies of FM. This magnetic field can be used to create a small amount of electricity that will be redirected back to the battery. The company claims that this method can save up to 60% battery. A big deal indeed!
Although this device concentrates on the utilization of the wasted signals, it remains unclear how it will differentiate between the wasted signals and the useful ones. This is necessary to ensure that the device doesn’t disrupt the cellular transmissions. Also, there is a technical gap that proves that the trickle charge will be sufficient to save reasonable battery life.
There is another problem with the concept that needs discussion; the antenna will be able to retain only some of the signals. This means that if the signals propagate across a room or outdoor area, the potential of trickle charge creation drops off dramatically, thus restricting the device to work in enclosed areas only.
If these technical issues are reasonably addressed by the company, their technology will have a great hand in the future of cellular technologies. The device may also be used across other platforms to restore energy wherever it is wasted.
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