Hmmmm. It’s illegal to steal power by putting coils on your roof if you live underneath a high voltage power line, right? So why exactly wouldn’t this be illegal as well?

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Because the rooftop coil uses magnetic induction to lower the voltage in the powerline while increasing it in the coil. The WiFi harvester absorbs a tiny part the omni-direction signal from the wifi hotspot, preventing it from very slightly heating up whatever it would have fallen on otherwise. This doesn’t “steal power” from the hotspot anymore than a solar panel “steals power” from the Sun.

Interesting question from a Consumerist commenter on the Wifi harvester.

Airnergy Charger Generates Electricity From WiFi Signals - The Consumerist

(via heyitsnoah)