Georgia Tech researchers have developed an energy-harvesting device that can collect power from various sources including radio and television transmitters, cell phone networks and satellite communications systems.
“We are using an ultra-wideband antenna that lets us exploit a variety of signals in different frequency ranges, giving us greatly increased power-gathering capability,” explains Manos Tentzeris of Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The device has the ability to capture energy from a range of banks, convert the energy from AC to DC power, and then subsequently store it in capacitors and batteries.
The team hopes that the device could provide a new means of powering networks of wireless sensors, microprocessors and communications chips.
Virtual advertising is making its way into re-runs.
An episode of “How I Met Your Mother” (that originally ran on CBS in March 2007) recently aired in syndication featuring a magazine cover that mentions a new movie, “Zookeeper.”
The Kevin James comedy that appears in the four-year-old episode premieres today.
The digital ad is an example of “virtual advertising” that inserts messages into video that wasn’t originally there — not a new technology, but perhaps an interesting approach for repurposed content.
The article includes links to images before and after the digital insertion.
Microsoft’s ad division has created a research partnership with Nielsen dubbed the Television Online Effect program.
The project’s primary goal is to better learn how consumers are influenced by TV and the Web in terms of engagement with marketing messages.
The research, which begins in August, will use Nielsen’s TV/Internet Fusion panel and customized research Microsoft will develop.
The pilot will initially launch with entertainment advertisers, but will most likely expand in the future.
“If advertisers are looking to capture food enthusiasts for the launch of a new cooking show or networks are looking to drive Moms to primetime programming, they can leverage our exciting new service,” commented Microsoft’s Joslyn Moore in a blog post.
