Researchers believe they have discovered a device which may be able to power your phone and other electronic items from energy in the air.
They have found that by harnessing energy from the air around us could potentially power wireless sensors, microprocessors and communications chips.
These 'energy scavenging' devices could even be stored in places like our shoes and can be used by itself or with other generating technologies.
Researchers have discovered a way to capture and harness energy from thin air and store them in tiny devices
By scavenging ambient energy from the air around us, it could provide a new way to power networks of wireless sensors, microprocessors and communications chips
Manos Tentzeris, professor in the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said: 'There is a large amount of electromagnetic energy all around us, but nobody has been able to tap into it.'
If a battery or a solar-collector or battery package failed completely, scavenged energy could allow the system to transmit a wireless distress signal while also maintaining critical functionalities, according to a Georgia Tech statement.
Mr Tentzeris and his team have used inkjet printers to combine sensors, antennas and energy scavenging capabilities on paper or flexible polymers.
So far, the energy captured is minute - measured in microwatts and milliwatts, not megawatts - but is able to gather enough juice to power small sensors and RFID tags.
For example, the researchers last week said they had managed to gather enough energy from a TV station a half-kilometre away to power a small temperature sensor.
Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering professor Manos Tentzeris displays an inkjet-printed rectifying antenna used to convert microwave energy to DC power
They believe that self-powered, wireless paper-based sensors will soon be widely available at very low cost.
Researchers hope that when it’s combined with advanced capacitor technology, the device could provide up to 50 milliwatts.
These dual factors make them a natural environment for large numbers of wireless sensors capable of detecting potential threats such as explosives or smuggled nuclear material.
Sensors on food could scan for chemicals that indicate spoilage and send out an alert when detected, increasing food safety.
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