Freedom from tethering has finally arrived! Nikola Labs, in partnership with The Ohio State University, is tackling the modern day problem of extending cell phone battery life and will be demoing a live prototype at Startup Alley in TechCrunch Disrupt NY. Nikola Lab’s iPhone 6 case is able to capture the wasted energy from the cell phone’s mobile and Wi-Fi antennas and convert it into DC power, which will help increase battery life by as much as 30 percent. “We are honored to be one of the 200 companies presenting at TechCrunch Disrupt’s Startup Alley and are extremely excited for everyone to be able to see and demo the Nikola Case for the first time,” said Nikola Labs President Will Zell. “Nikola Cases are the first truly wireless charging option that doesn’t require the use of any external energy source. We are able to capture the energy that is lost by typical phone usage and put it back into the phone to extend the battery life by 30 percent.”
TechCrunch Disrupt NY
TechCrunch Disrupt NY will be the first time the public has a chance to see and use a fully functional prototype from Nikola Labs. Nikola Labs is one of just 200 companies participating in the Startup Alley and they presented their innovation on Monday, May 4 and are encouraging fans to vote for them to win the Audience Choice Award and compete in the Startup Battlefield at https://www.nikolalabs.co/vote. Voting opened on Monday, May 4.
How Does it Work?
The antennas in an iPhone 6 for Wi-Fi and mobile communications are powerful yet highly inefficient devices with a majority of the energy generated wasted to space. Nikola Labs is utilizing patent-pending technology created by Dr. Chi-Chi Chen’s research team at The Ohio State University ElectroScience Laboratory to harness that wasted power, along with ambient radio frequencies from Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and LTE signals. The Nikola Case utilizes three integrated technologies:
- Built-in antenna to harvest RF signal
- An LED Indicator displaying the strength of the signal that is being converted
- RF to DC converter that feeds power to lightning cable port of the iPhone 6
Product Features
The Nikola Case converts RF energy to DC power to extend the iPhone 6 battery life by 30 percent and includes the following features:
- Self-powered by the RF signals that it captures
- Made of a lightweight, high strength polycarbonate to provide a layer of protection without making the phone bulky
- Easy access to the headphone jack
- Doesn’t interfere with normal data transmission
The Nikola System
The Nikola Case for iPhone 6 is just the first tool in an upcoming line of Nikola System of mobile products. Future products include similar cases for the Galaxy line of smart phones as well as cases for iPads and other tablets. As the technology is refined, future versions will allow consumers to completely cut the cable and have a fully charged cell phone all day, everyday without ever having to plug in. Each product in the Nikola System will be future proof so there won’t be a need for upgrading.
Timing and Pricing
Nikola Labs is planning on launching a Kickstarter campaign shortly after its appearance at TechCrunch Disrupt NY. With a fully working prototype in hand, Nikola Labs is one step ahead of most crowdfunding campaigns. Additional details, including pricing and reward levels, will be launched in the near future. Once the campaign is fully funded, the Nikola Cases are expected to ship in Q4 of 2015.
For more information, visit https://www.nikolalabs.co, Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/
