Wireless Charging your Handhelds?

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?

Comments

Sounds Great

[Martok7]

Sounds great, but I wonder how slow the charge time is and how compatible it is.

Dumb Question

[boatboy]

OK, Dumb Question: Why doesn't it short out easily?

Re:Dumb Question

[Smallpond]

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.

Along these lines...

[xXunderdogXx]

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

[Schlemphfer]

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.