Wireless Devices Go Battery-Free With New Communication Technique 111
melios sends this quote from an University of Washington news release:
"[E]ngineers have created a new wireless communication system that allows devices to interact with each other without relying on batteries or wires for power. The new communication technique, which the researchers call 'ambient backscatter,' takes advantage of the TV and cellular transmissions that already surround us around the clock. Two devices communicate with each other by reflecting the existing signals to exchange information. The researchers built small, battery-free devices with antennas that can detect, harness and reflect a TV signal, which then is picked up by other similar devices."
Re:New??? (Score:5, Insightful)
Not quite the same. Crystal radios can't transmit information, only receive it, while this can both transmit and received. In the sense that they're powered only by the RF received, they are similar.
Re:The Technology is Not New (Score:4, Insightful)
It matters because it's interesting and implies new applications. Why is it that every time there's a new idea presented on Slashdot, the slightest connection to existing technology makes it completely worthless?