Power your mobile from Air energy

Power your mobile from Air energy


A revolutionary new device would only need air to keep your mobile phones, wireless sensors and communication chips going.

These 'energy scavenging' devices could even be stored in places like shoes and can be operated by themselves or with other generating technologies. 

Said Manos Tentzeris, professor at the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering: "There is a large amount of electromagnetic energy all around us but nobody has been able to tap into it," the Daily Mail reports. 

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. 

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 half a km away to power a small temperature sensor.

Foldable smartphone screen

London: Mobile phone manufacturers have unsuccessfully tried to make smaller devices with bigger screen displays. But the sheer impossibility of creating a seamless screen nixed the idea of a folding phone. Till now.

Researchers at Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, South Korea, have built a prototype of a seamless foldable display that opens up to look like that of a regular smartphone.

The display consists of two active matrix organic light-emitting-diode (AMOLED) panels covered by a silicone window that prevents scratches and can serve as a touchscreen, the Daily Mail reports.

When folded down, they are separated by a gap of just one millimetre. But when the screen is opened, one panel lies almost completely on top of the other and appears seamless.

The researchers tested the foldable display's durability by performing 100,000 folding-unfolding cycles. They said the key to success was controlling the optical properties of the materials.

"All the materials in a foldable window unit (glasses and silicone rubber) must have almost the same optical properties and attach to each other strongly without any optical property change," Samsung's HongShik Shim said.

This new type of technology has not so far taken off because of the high manufacturing costs.

However, determined to compete with innovative design such as the iPad, a number of major manufacturers are determined to expand research and develop innovative new products with folding screens.

Samsung hopes that its large-screen devices will soon be available with AMOLED technology.

WHO study on cancer from cell phones outdated: Experts

New Delhi: The World Health Organisation (WHO) study linking mobile phone usage with brain tumour does not reveal something previously unknown and the warning had been spelt out long ago for India, touted to be the world's fastest growing mobile market with 791 million mobile subscriptions, experts said Thursday.

"There have always been 'indicative studies' that said mobile phones can cause cancer, be it in India or at international level. The point is we have never really been able to substantiate it with conclusive facts and end up spreading panic," B.C. Das, director of B.R. Ambedkar Centre for Biomedical Research at the Delhi University, told IANS.

Das, former director of the institute of preventive oncology in Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), explained: "Mobile phones are closer to the brain, so the electromagnetic radiations emitted by them surely have certain adverse effects on the brain. Now it is not necessary that they result in a multi factorial disease like brain cancer."

A working group of 31 scientists from 14 countries meeting at the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Wednesday said a review of all the available scientific evidence suggested cell phone use should be classified as "possibly carcinogenic".

The study stated: "Using a mobile phone might increase the risk of developing certain types of brain tumours and consumers should consider ways of reducing their exposure."

Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai and the ICMR had earlier conducted studies on the "effects of mobile phones with Indian perspective".

But no study has been able to present conclusive proof, said P.K. Julka, professor of radiotherapy and oncology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Mobile handset manufacturers, meanwhile, echo the health experts and advise waiting for more studies before reaching any final conclusion.

"It is important to note that IARC has not classified radio frequency fields as definitely nor even probably carcinogenic to humans. The researchers have only concluded that based on limited evidence, it may be possible that there could be some increased risk for certain cancer," an official from Nokia told IANS.

Rajan S. Mathews, director general of the Cellular Operators Association of India, said in statement: "It is significant that IARC has concluded that radio frequency electromagnetic fields are neither a definite nor a probable human carcinogen. Additional research is required."

However, experts vouch for the precautions suggested by the WHO to minimise the use of mobile phones.

"One can opt for text messaging, e-mail, landline phone use and reduce the time spent talking on mobile phones. This should be done without panicking," added Julka.

Youngsters, who comprise nearly 60 percent of the over 600 million user base, too say the precautions are viable.

"I think one can surely resort to alternatives such text messaging and e-mails to minimise the use of mobile phones. The study will come as an alarm, though not proven," said 20-year-old Sakshi Mathur.

Swedish hotel replaces room keys with mobile phone

Visitors to a Stockholm hotel will be able to use mobile phones instead of keys to unlock the doors to their rooms.

Assa Abloy AB, the world's largest maker of door locks, has launched a pilot in which Clarion Hotel Stockholm will lend customers mobile phones with close-range radio chips, much like devices used for contact-less payments at gas stations.

Repeat visitors during a four-month trial will be able to check in through their phones before arrival and have their phones activated as "keys." They will then be able to skip the registration desk and unlock the door by holding the phone next to it.

The short-range radio technology, known as Near Field Communication, is expected to be built into smart phones in the coming years. It is also envisioned for ticketing and card payments. Assa Abloy says it wanted to test the system before expanding it to other hotels, commercial buildings and homes.

Greger Johansson, a telecommunications analyst at research firm Redeye, said NFC is a hot technology in the mobile phone market. But he said few models have incorporated it so far and it will take "several years" before it becomes widely used.

"It's not just a matter of incorporating the technology into the phones," he said. "You need someone who can read it too. There are quite a few players involved so it will take a while until it works well."

The head of Assa Abloy's mobile keys division, Daniel Berg, acknowledged that participants in the trial may find it cumbersome to have an extra mobile phone.

But once people have the technology in their own phones, he said, it will save them time at check-in and improve security because the access credentials in a lost phone can be revoked remotely.

He said the phone technology works with existing radio-enabled locks, so hotels can continue giving key cards to visitors who don't have the new technology in their phones.