A new breed of
mobile wireless device lacks a battery or other energy storage, but it can
still send data over Wi-Fi. These devices, developed by researchers at the
University of Washington, get all the power they need by making use of the
Wi-Fi, TV, radio, and cellular signals that are already in the air.
The technology
could free engineers to extend the tendrils of the Internet and computers into
corners of the world they don’t currently reach. Battery-free devices that can
communicate could make it much cheaper and easier to widely deploy sensors
inside homes to take control of heating and other services.
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