Tesla would be proud: This iPhone case generates power from unused radio waves

Published May 6, 2015 11:56am

The famously reclusive inventor Nikola Tesla devoted a large part of his life to pursuing the dream—which, during his lifetime at the dawn of the radio age, seemed a crazy idea—of transmitting power wirelessly through the air.

Now, over a century later, a startup tech company named in his honor has come up with a way to almost magically charge your phone even while it's in your pocket—by tapping into unused radio waves.

A brainchild of Nikola Labs and Ohio State University, the case seeks to "recycle" the phone's unused radio signals into energy.

Nikola Labs said the case uses a radio frequency (RF) harvesting antenna to convert WiFi signals into DC power.

"Nikola Technology efficiently converts RF signals like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and LTE into DC power using its proprietary energy harvesting circuit. The result is usable energy that can provide power to mobile devices wirelessly," it said.

Click here to visit Nikola Labs.

A separate report on T3.com said the case in effect "captures the stray radio waves and converts this into DC power which goes straight back into the phone."

It added the case can convert up to 90 percent of the wasted energy back into the phone. This may mean extending battery life by as much as 30 percent.

But T3 said such technology could be used in other devices, such as wearable technology, embedded sensors, and medical devices.

While Nikola Labs indicated the case may become a Kickstarter project, T3 said it could cost around $99. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News

Tags: nikolatesla, nikolalabs, apple, appleiphone