Wireless data transmission is one of the greatest forms of battery drain in our mobile devices, but it looks like things are about to get better. The folks over at Renesas Electronics Corporation have developed a near-field wireless communication technology that can transmit data without using any battery. The wireless data can even be sent to Bluetooth and WiFi-compatible devices.How does it work? Well, the devices that transmit the data require electricity to function, but instead of relying on a battery, they harvest electricity that is in the air. To be more specific – environmental radio waves. Usually devices that rely on batteries consume several tens of milliwatts which make dedicated power sources a requirement. But by reducing the amount of energy consumed to just several microwatts – electricity obtained from radio waves is sufficient to keep the sensors juiced.
No word on how fast the data can be transmitted but we should see it commercially available in two to three years. Expect to see this technology being used in watches that link to your smartphones, or in sensors for monitoring subjects or objects (i.e. heart rate monitors). Definitely great news for the environment.