Nikola Labs has unveiled a new iPhone 6 case, which charges your handset with the help of radio waves. Nikola technology converts RF signals such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and LTE etc into DC power. The RF-DC converter is placed inside the case, which allows the conversion using the energy harvesting circuit.
Energy harvesting is basically the process by which energy is derived from external sources (e.g. solar power, thermal energy, wind energy, salinity gradients and kinetic energy), captured, and stored for electronic devices. In this case, wasted energy from various radio devices such as Wi-Fi, Buetooth, NFC and others are captured and converted into electrical energy.
Dr Chi-Chih Chen, an Ohio State University College of Engineering Associate Professor, introduced RF energy harvesting technology. A report by TechCrunch also states that placing the iPhone case next to a Wi-Fi router helps in generating DC current.
The new iPhone 6 case also works as a network indicator, to help you know how strong or weak the network signal is. The soon-to-be-unveiled iPhone case is a KickStarter project and will be priced at $99 (Estimated price: Rs 6,280).
