Another interesting aspect likely to arise in the near future is the business model for energy harvesting. In the 17th century residents of England were subject to the notorious 'window tax', which levied a fee based on the number of windows in a property. While it was always intended as a tax on the homeowner's income, based on their apparent wealth (the more windows, the bigger the house and therefore the bigger the income), it was dubbed a tax on light and air. Is it unthinkable to assume something similar could, some day, be imposed on devices that operate purely from harvested energy?
This story appeared in the Janjuary-February 2009 print edition of Embedded Systems EuropeEuropean residents who wish to receive regular copies of EE Times Europe, subscribe here.
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This story appeared in the Janjuary-February 2009 print edition of Embedded Systems EuropeEuropean residents who wish to receive regular copies of EE Times Europe, subscribe 
