University of Washington researchers have invented a cellphone that requires no batteries -- a major leap forward in moving beyond chargers, cords and dying phones. Instead, the phone harvests the few microwatts of power it requires from either ambient radio signals or light.
Source ~ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170705164453.htm
I've been saying for years that someone should invent electrical devices that run on the electron charge from the atoms that construct the device.
Looks like we are progressing towards that very thing.
The new technology is detailed in a paper published July 1 in the Proceedings of the Association for Computing Machinery on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies.
the battery-free cellphone takes advantage of tiny vibrations in a phone's microphone or speaker that occur when a person is talking into a phone or listening to a call.
"The proof of concept we've developed is exciting today, and we think it could impact everyday devices in the future."
The battery-free phone does still require a small amount of energy to perform some operations. The prototype has a power budget of 3.5 microwatts.
Next, the research team plans to focus on improving the battery-free phone's operating range and encrypting conversations to make them secure. The team is also working to stream video over a battery-free cellphone and add a visual display feature to the phone using low-power E-ink screens.