Nowadays our mobile phones are getting more and more energy hungry! With that in mind researchers from the University of Washington started developing a device which uses a technique called backscatter.
It uses the radio waves that already move around us to communicate.
The device had no battery at all and is still in its infant stages, however the team of scientists that are working on this technology have already demonstrated its capabilities by making voice call from a battery-less phone to an Android smartphone.
Researchers call the digital backscatter technology a passive wi-fi, for gadgets that use a tiny amount of power.
Converting analog speech to digital signals consumes a lot of power, therefore this phone is using analog technology!
The team had to reinvent this technology to make it efficient. For the last time this technology has been used during the Cold War.
The cell phone sends signals when numbers are dialed, and then moves on to a completely analog technology for the voice transmission.
The signal moves on unlicensed frequencies, the base station connects the cell phone to the network and provides the needed energy for it to work.
The technology is still in infant stages, and the call quality and range isn't really good but researchers are working on improving its quality and range!
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Source: https://www.wired.com/story/this-cell-phone-can-make-calls-even-without-a-battery/
http://www.iflscience.com/technology/researchers-develop-a-cell-phone-that-works-without-a-battery/