Entrepreneur and former UK Science Minister Lord Drayson has unveiled a technology call Freevolt that can be a power source for Internet of Things (IoT), powering such devices as wearables and sensors, without the need for a connection to a wall socket.

Lord Drayson, demonstrated electricity from Air - Freevolt

Freevolt harvests energy from radio frequencies from existing wireless and broadcast networks.

Demonstrating the technology at the Royal Institution, Lord Drayson used the radio frequency energy within the presentation room to power a loudspeaker!

The technology has already been harnessed into a product. The CleanSpace is a personal air pollution monitor created by Drayson Technologies. The aim of the product is to improve air quality and to highlight the extent of pollution. Freevolt technology harvests power for the built in battery.

“It doesn’t require any extra infrastructure, it doesn’t require us to transmit any extra energy, it’s recycling the energy which isn’t being used at the moment.”

— Lord Drayson

The technology, which has been patented, could now be used by organisations such as supermarkets which are preparing for the next phase of the internet, where billions of small cheap sensors are online providing data about their operations.

Drayson Technologies - http://www.draysontechnologies.com/