'Airnergy' gadget promises wireless charging over Wi-Fi

Gadgets have been powered by many means over the years, from the humble plug to the battery to wind-up radios. But now one company thinks it can take things a step further – and pluck power from the air simply by harnessing Wi-Fi signals.

Airnergy, a new system from electronics company RCA, hopes to make a breakthrough by allowing people to charge up their gadgets without lifting a finger.

The company's first Airnergy device – dubbed a "Wi-Fi hotspot power harvester" by its makers – claims to harness small amounts of the signals broadcast by wireless internet access points, turning it into a useful power source for small devices such as mobile phones and music players.

The pocket-sized gizmo, which resembles a 3G dongle, carries a complex series of circuits that converts a Wi-Fi signal into energy and stores it in its own battery. It can then be plugged into any mini-USB connector to provide a secondary power source.

The laws of physics dictate that the device cannot be enormously powerful, and the speed at which it recharges will depend heavily on the strength of nearby Wi-Fi signals. But since wireless internet – which operates on the same frequency used by cordless telephones and microwaves ovens – is so prevalent, its makers suggest that it could effectively provide "free energy" by simply working off ambient electromagnetic noise while users go about their daily business.

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