Student Invention May Significantly Extend Mobile Device Battery Life

imamac writes with this excerpt from news out of Carleton University: "Atif Shamim, an electronics PhD student at Carleton University, has built a prototype that extends the battery life of portable gadgets such as the iPhone and BlackBerry, by getting rid of all the wires used to connect the electronic circuits with the antenna. ... The invention involves a packaging technique to connect the antenna with the circuits via a wireless connection between a micro-antenna embedded within the circuits on the chip. 'This has not been tried before — that the circuits are connected to the antenna wirelessly. They've been connected through wires and a bunch of other components. That's where the power gets lost,' Mr. Shamim said." The story's headline claims the breakthrough can extend battery life by up to 12 times, but that seems to be a misinterpretation of Shamim's claim that his method reduces the power required to operate the antenna by a factor of about 12; 3.3 mW down from 38 mW. The research paper (PDF) is available at the Microwave Journal. imamac adds, "Unlike many of the breakthroughs we read about here and elsewhere, this seems like it has a very high probability of market acceptance and actual implementation."

Comments

This Sounds Like a Great Idea

[WaxlyMolding]

...until you consider the security ramifications.

Re:This Sounds Like a Great Idea

[narcberry]

Yeah, he'd basically short-range broadcasting his long range broadcast. If you got within several feet of him and used the right equipment, you might be able to listen in on everything he's broadcasting!

Re:This Sounds Like a Great Idea

[ODiV]

So put a Faraday cage around it?

Re:This Sounds Like a Great Idea

[Anonymous Coward]

The ramifications of sending data a short distance to the antenna, which is then relayed a much longer distance to the base station...yeah, I'm sure those hackers are gonna pull your data off your antenna from this connection rather than the antenna's connection to the tower

Re:This Sounds Like a Great Idea

[zygotic mitosis]

This has become a costly way of talking to yourself, then. Crackheads on the bus have a simpler method.

Re:This Sounds Like a Great Idea

[BronsCon]

w....
wh...
who?

**WHOOSH**

Re:This Sounds Like a Great Idea

[Anonymous Coward]

Who modded this funny? It is a valid way of securing the transmission from the circuit to the antenna, hence answering the grandparent post.

Re:But what % of battery use does it represent?

[Kent Recal]

I suppose it depends on usage patterns.

Yes. His approach would only help people who use their phones primarily to *gasp* make phone calls. Blasphemy?

Re:Counter-intuitive!

[Anonymous Coward]

No, you don't get it: wires is how you lose power. Try disconnecting your battery and see how long it lasts then!

In fact I should do my PhD on that.

Re:Counter-intuitive!

[Anonymous Coward]

yes, once we figure out how to overcome the resistance quality of air I envision a new age where we can have wireless like youtube service.

I will call this great thing television.

Re:Tuned Antenna

[dgatwood]

Same way you tune a fish.

Re:Tuned Antenna

[dindi]

start eating the pringles out of it, that reduces interference with the other components inside. That is a good start IMO

Re:Counter-intuitive!

[theaveng]

"Thief! You can't have television unless you pay Comcast $50 a month. You can't just pull television off the air!"

So said my clueless neighbor when I said I get TV for free.

(shaking head)