All
Suppliers
Products
CAD Models
Diverse Suppliers
Insights
By Category, Company or Brand
All Regions
Alabama
Alaska
Alberta
Arizona
Arkansas
British Columbia
California - Northern
California - Southern
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Manitoba
Maryland
Massachusetts - Eastern
Massachusetts - Western
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Brunswick
New Hampshire
New Jersey - Northern
New Jersey - Southern
New Mexico
New York - Metro
New York - Upstate
Newfoundland & Labrador
North Carolina
North Dakota
Northwest Territories
Nova Scotia
Nunavut
Ohio - Northern
Ohio - Southern
Oklahoma
Ontario
Oregon
Pennsylvania - Eastern
Pennsylvania - Western
Prince Edward Island
Puerto Rico
Quebec
Rhode Island
Saskatchewan
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas - North
Texas - South
Utah
Vermont
Virgin Islands
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Yukon

Researchers Create Battery-Free Cellphone

Ed Edwards
1/27/2019 | 5 min read
Subscribe

Researchers from the University of Washington have made what they believe to be the first cellphone that doesn't require a battery. Instead of drawing power from a battery, the rudimentary proof-of-concepts harvest the necessary 3.5 microwatts of power from light using tiny solar cells, or from ambient radio signals.

Made of commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) components, the phone works by placing calls through Skype. To make a call, the user enters the number and the phone transmits the information to a base station. The base station places the call via Skype, and the phone receives the signal and plays the audio through earbuds. The base is also responsible for supplying the ambient power, as long as it's less than 31 feet away, that the cellphone uses to harvest energy.

Why hasn't this been done before? Because, until now, designers haven't been able to convert sound into digital data that the phone can understand without chewing up too much power.

These researchers are using the tiny vibrations in a phone's microphone and speaker to transmit speech in a way that uses almost no power.

The team of electrical engineers and computer scientists are now trying to improve the phone's operating range and make these conversations more secure. They are even trying to transmit video calls using E-ink screens.

 

Next Up in Manufacturing & Innovation
DOE to Invest $1.5 Billion to Restore Michigan Nuclear Plant
Show More in Manufacturing & Innovation