New invention harvests ambient Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals to power small devices

Small devices like light sensors or network components could soon harvest power from background Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals — using a sophisticated new component that can turn even the faintest electromagnetic waves into electricity.

Researchers have created a highly sensitive “rectenna,” or rectifying antenna, a component that exploits quirks of quantum physics to efficiently convert electromagnetic energy into direct current (DC) electricity. The researchers used this novel approach of capturing electrons to power a commercial thermometer.

In a study published July 24 in the journal Nature Electronics, the scientists suggested this technology could be scaled up to power Internet of Things (IoT) devices and sensors using a small proportion of the excess radiofrequency (RF) signals they use to communicate with one another.

This makes a lot of sense, as they are radiations after all, they should have their solar panel equivalents.

The question is not whether we can but rather whether we should. I would assume that those Wifi-Bluetooth powered devices would sap a certain amount of intensity; I wonder how that would affect the quality of the signal with a large amount of these devices.