A battery-free device can still send messages

Engineers at the University of Washington have built a wireless communications system that allows devices like smartphones to interact with each other without relying on batteries or power.

>>> Video: The device without battery can still message

This technology, called "Ambient Backscatter" , utilizes TV and cellular waves to help a network of devices and sensors communicate with each other without the need for power.

Using the Ambient Backscatter, these devices can interact without the battery. They exchange information by reflecting or absorbing existing radio waves.

For simulations, the team built small, thin, battery-free devices that have antennas to detect, extract, and reflect TV signals.

These devices are being tested in Seattle in a variety of situations, such as inside a high-rise apartment, on the street or at a parking lot ... some TV tower to 1 11 km. They realized that the device could still communicate at speeds of about 1 to 2.5 Kbps even if it was far enough from the television tower to send data such as messages and contacts.

Joshua Smith, associate professor of computer science and coauthor of the study, said the application of this technology was infinite. They can put the system on devices that are too dependent on batteries such as smartphones. It will be configured so that when the battery is drained, the phone can still send messages, e-mails ... thanks to the signal from the TV.

Intelligent sensors can also be set up and placed permanently in any architecture, such as in a bridge to assess the strength of concrete and iron. The work was announced at the Special Interest Group on Data Communication 2013, held in Hong Kong on August 13 and was awarded the Excellence Award.