Posted by
CmdrTaco
on from the now-thats-just-crazy dept.
Flibble writes "The BBC has a story about a uk startup offering a mat for charging all your portable devices via magnetic inductive power transfer. Is this the answer to cutting the mountain of chargers I have to carry all the time?" God wouldn't that be a dream come true?
Sounds great, but I wonder how slow the charge time is and how compatible it is.
-- I never liked you
Dumb Question
by
boatboy
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
OK, Dumb Question:
Why doesn't it short out easily?
Re:Dumb Question
by
Smallpond
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
Not a dumb question. Magnetic circuits can be shorted just like electrical circuits. In fact, proximity sensors work because any metallic object absorbs enough energy to be detectable by its electronics. In this case, I assume they have done their homework and made the energy field low enough not to fry your hand if you are wearing a wedding ring, say.
damage
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
Could the elctro magnetic field not cause damage to sensitive electronics, especially things like flash memory?
Emf? Not a problem, apparently
by
mooZENDog
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
Still, I wonder if this "pad" comes with a warning not to leave credit cards, etc. near it?
Having read the website, they're saying that it's no trouble for credit cards. If they have to keep the power levels low, then it may hamper the device's usefulness. Perhaps they could have variable speeds, perhaps you could crank it right up and fry eggs on it! Toasty:)
--
---
"An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind" - Gandhi
I've been waiting for something like this since I was in my Physics lab class playing with magnets flux and copper coil.
If true this could be awesome:)
Wouldnt there be a problem with devices with magnetic drives though? I'm guessing either those devices have to be shielded, or they have to be devices not using magnetic drives (say compactflash cards, or optical drives...) ?
--
.... int main (void) {... }
What would this do to portable fuel cells?
by
electro_mike
·
· Score: 1, Interesting
I wonder what this will do for the production of portable fuel cells? I mean, everyone is looking forward to the convience of instant recharging of the fuel cell, but if this technology catches on you could be recharging as ya sip a coffee, and the only advantage of the portable fule cell would be for people out in remote areas which is a very small market.
not very efficient
by
hottoh
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
Yeah it is a cool idea. Long ago I had a rechargeable electric toothbrush that had a induction field charger. So the concept is not 'new' to the marketplace.
Lastly they technology is not very efficient. I recall that it is less than half as efficient as a transformer [aka, adapter].
Along these lines...
by
xXunderdogXx
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
One thing I always dreamed about when I was studying EM radiation in first year chemistry was how awesome it would be to somehow grab power out of directed EM radiation. Just imagine all the useful things that would come out of such a technology:
No more power lines
No more batteries
Completely wireless monitors (without recharging)
On a side note, I've always wanted wireless headphones that could be used for a walkman. So you'd just have to put tiny earbuds in your ears and leave your mobile audio device in your pocket.. I always figured this isn't feasible because of the power requirements.
It Works for Great Toothbrushes
by
Schlemphfer
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
I bought an Interplak toothbrush about five years ago, that I think uses the same kind of technology seen here. It worked great, and I was able to use that toothbrush every day until I dropped it on the floor last week. This kind of charging solution is ideal for something like a toothbrush, which is likely to get wet and be a supreme electrocution hazard if plugged directly into a wall.
Anyway, this technology worked so well that I'd think this is almost an obvious idea for recharging electronic items, especially if it's not going to screw up hard drives and electronic media. So the question is, why haven't other companies taken this technology beyond toothbrushes?
Overall, I was disappointed by the BBC article. It would have been great if the author had sought out an EE authority, and had her/him mention the disadvantages of this charging approach. I have a feeling that this charging solution is likely incredibly wasteful of electricity. But maybe this waste doesn't matter much if you're talking about minor charging needs like cellphones. Anyway, surely there's somebody on here with a EE background who can speak to whatever shortcomings are inherent in this technology.
-- I'm generally "Interesting," "Insightful," and even "Funny" here. What the hell happens to me at parties?
Gadgets with frickin' "laser beams"
by
irving47
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
It's a pipedream, but I always thought it would be interesting to put together a cordless mouse that has a few small solar cells in it that you could aim a laser (or maybe a focussed, white LED) at from it's little USB receiver and charge the batteries wirelessly that way. Problem is, solar cells are so inefficient, it would probably take a week or two just to get one charge...
Do you think the makers of those devices are going to use this? They could be using standard battery sizes if they wanted to eliminate all those wires. It's a backward concept anyway. Devices should not be good devices not battery chargers. I've tried very hard to avoid silly devices that use non-standard batteries but I now own four and feel like I'm going backward in time.
--
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
The barrier isn't technological...
by
cgenman
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Is this the answer to cutting the mountain of chargers I have to carry all the time?" God wouldn't that be a dream come true?
The reason there are so many different chargers is intentional incompatibility. Splash Charge themselves shows evidence of this, as they intend to charge "between 25 and 50 dollars" when this ships. How much does a replacement AC adapter cost you? About 10 - 20 dollars in a normal device. How much does it cost the company? Pennies.
Besides voltage settings (12 volts would be pretty even), there is no reason why device manufacturers couldn't have standardized on an 4-mm sized center positive 1.0 Amp plug by now. The ability to charge multiple devices at once is interesting, though one has to wonder how strong such a device could be with a reasonably sized wall wart.
The technology is very cool and I look forward to using it someday. But I expect once that day comes, it will be a propreitary charging pad, able to fit only a specific device thanks to some unnecessary plastic tabs.
Slashdot Mirror
Sounds great, but I wonder how slow the charge time is and how compatible it is.
I never liked you
OK, Dumb Question: Why doesn't it short out easily?
Could the elctro magnetic field not cause damage to sensitive electronics, especially things like flash memory?
Still, I wonder if this "pad" comes with a warning not to leave credit cards, etc. near it?
:)
Having read the website, they're saying that it's no trouble for credit cards. If they have to keep the power levels low, then it may hamper the device's usefulness. Perhaps they could have variable speeds, perhaps you could crank it right up and fry eggs on it! Toasty
---
"An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind" - Gandhi
I've been waiting for something like this since I was in my Physics lab class playing with magnets flux and copper coil.
:)
If true this could be awesome
Wouldnt there be a problem with devices with magnetic drives though? I'm guessing either those devices have to be shielded, or they have to be devices not using magnetic drives (say compactflash cards, or optical drives...) ?
.... ... }
int main (void) {
I wonder what this will do for the production of portable fuel cells? I mean, everyone is looking forward to the convience of instant recharging of the fuel cell, but if this technology catches on you could be recharging as ya sip a coffee, and the only advantage of the portable fule cell would be for people out in remote areas which is a very small market.
Yeah it is a cool idea. Long ago I had a rechargeable electric toothbrush that had a induction field charger. So the concept is not 'new' to the marketplace.
Lastly they technology is not very efficient. I recall that it is less than half as efficient as a transformer [aka, adapter].
- No more power lines
- No more batteries
- Completely wireless monitors (without recharging)
On a side note, I've always wanted wireless headphones that could be used for a walkman. So you'd just have to put tiny earbuds in your ears and leave your mobile audio device in your pocket.. I always figured this isn't feasible because of the power requirements.Anyway, this technology worked so well that I'd think this is almost an obvious idea for recharging electronic items, especially if it's not going to screw up hard drives and electronic media. So the question is, why haven't other companies taken this technology beyond toothbrushes?
Overall, I was disappointed by the BBC article. It would have been great if the author had sought out an EE authority, and had her/him mention the disadvantages of this charging approach. I have a feeling that this charging solution is likely incredibly wasteful of electricity. But maybe this waste doesn't matter much if you're talking about minor charging needs like cellphones. Anyway, surely there's somebody on here with a EE background who can speak to whatever shortcomings are inherent in this technology.
I'm generally "Interesting," "Insightful," and even "Funny" here. What the hell happens to me at parties?
It's a pipedream, but I always thought it would be interesting to put together a cordless mouse that has a few small solar cells in it that you could aim a laser (or maybe a focussed, white LED) at from it's little USB receiver and charge the batteries wirelessly that way. Problem is, solar cells are so inefficient, it would probably take a week or two just to get one charge...
I had a sucky sig.
Do you think the makers of those devices are going to use this? They could be using standard battery sizes if they wanted to eliminate all those wires. It's a backward concept anyway. Devices should not be good devices not battery chargers. I've tried very hard to avoid silly devices that use non-standard batteries but I now own four and feel like I'm going backward in time.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Is this the answer to cutting the mountain of chargers I have to carry all the time?" God wouldn't that be a dream come true?
The reason there are so many different chargers is intentional incompatibility. Splash Charge themselves shows evidence of this, as they intend to charge "between 25 and 50 dollars" when this ships. How much does a replacement AC adapter cost you? About 10 - 20 dollars in a normal device. How much does it cost the company? Pennies.
Besides voltage settings (12 volts would be pretty even), there is no reason why device manufacturers couldn't have standardized on an 4-mm sized center positive 1.0 Amp plug by now. The ability to charge multiple devices at once is interesting, though one has to wonder how strong such a device could be with a reasonably sized wall wart.
The technology is very cool and I look forward to using it someday. But I expect once that day comes, it will be a propreitary charging pad, able to fit only a specific device thanks to some unnecessary plastic tabs.
The ______ Agenda
Is that why laptops have an external transformer "brick", or is that just for convenience?
"I assumed blithely that there were no elves out there in the darkness"