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Wireless Power Gets A Boost
srizah writes "At CES, Las Vegas, two companies — Arizona-based WildCharge and Michigan-based Fulton have demonstrated what are very different ways to charge gadgets sans wires. "
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when you have to connect it to something, it's not wireless. quit wasting my time.
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
Can't wait for this stuff. Imagine it - slap your mobile down on your desk and it's charged. Your MacBook - chargind while you use it with no wires. Awesome. A pad that can charge multiple devices (as in the article) would also be great. But how realistic is this, by which I mean, how far away is this tech from being 'in the shops'? I suspect it'll be some time. Wingrove says their first device will be available this Summer, but I'm sceptical. And I *don't* want my phone/laptop etc. to have a wireless dongle sticking out of it; almost as unsightly as the power cord.
Man wird am besten für seine Tugenden bestraft.
I wonder if there are any health risks associated with this? I often hear storys about people living near power lines being more at risk from leukemia, for example - this may be lower voltage, but if your sat right on top of it....
when you consider that the key to this device actually operating is that your device needs to be "fitted internally or externally with an adapter... ". Unless this also acts as a transformer then its pretty much useless. I can't see manufactures integrating internal adaptors in their devices either since it increases the device size and introduces heat.
(Or MPT) is an actual working technology already in use - I seem to recall a small experimental, remotely controlled, airplane that was powered this way. A ground microwave dish followed it as it moved across the sky and that powered the motors and other scientific experiments. On the other hand, a stationary object such as a cell phone shouldn't have a problem being powered in a dedicated recharge zone (such as a counter or shelf that would be designated as a human-unsafe area). Wikipedia claims that power transmission efficiencies and radiation are mostly negligible -- if so, does that mean that we should be going after it or is there inherent danger to the process?
s mission
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_power_tran
This stuff would (perhaps) have been really neat 10-20 years ago. Now we really need to start thinking hard about saving power in every way possible way (Global warming and all that..), and creating a technology that is only ~40% efficient (last time I looked) is NOT the way to achieve that, even for small, low-power devices.
Great idea, don't even consider bringing it to mass-market, unless you're bringing fusion power as well.
Will program for karma.
My electric toothbrush works like this. Basically half the transformer is in the handle end of the toothbrush, and the other half is wrapped around a socket that it plugs into. Apparantly brushes like this have been available since 1997.
Reduce, reuse, cycle
Transformers certainly get less efficient if you increase the gaps between the components. Think of it like this: one half of the transformer is using electricity to produce a varying magnetic field; the other half is intercepting the varying magnetic field and using its energy to generate electricity; if you increase the spacing then less of the magnetic field is intercepted. This means the system works less hard, so overall it's cooler, but presumably charging takes longer.
Reduce, reuse, cycle
Wall outlet chargers are usually shipped along with the gadgets. ...
Car chargers usually are sold for a couple of bucks or little more.
USB chargers are getting more and more adopted and costs are dropping.
So I'd say the wireless (but not touchless) charger is more likely to be another gadget than some real new solution.
First you have to buy new gadgets that support such a charging technology.
Then if you need to charge more gadgets you'll need a larger charger
Intelligence has limits. Stupidity doesn't.
The latter would be a real advance in technology!
I use a cell phone for one week and recharge it for 1 hour a week.
Intelligence has limits. Stupidity doesn't.
In the case of 'wireless' phones, I doubt many people have ever considered the 'wireless' to actually refer to the method of charging in a cradle. I would go so far as to say that no one will be impressed by the weak definition of 'wireless' used here, since it could also refer to something like a charging phone or a battery in a bannery charger, since no wire goes into the actual devices being charged.
Induction power is not new, so the 'gets a boost' is surprisingly accurate (in that it doesn't promise something entirely new, just a step forward), but 'true wireless power,' if someone were to bring it to market, would really blow people's minds.
Although the moon is smaller than the earth, it is farther away.
I am counting.... 5 wall-warts, 11 plugs, and one "in-line" wart-on-the-floor. And a UPS on the floor (only two plugs, no warts). Three power bars, and two separate wall outlets.
And that's just in my office space.
I am sick of this (unsightly) rigging. Yes, I will tolerate a higher power bill to eliminate it.
Just another "Cubible(sic) Joe" 2 17 3061
I've muttered about this before, what i'd like is a desk that was just a simple large flat inductive surface (with a nice layer of veneer on top). It could handle communication between devices (instead of insecurely and noisily shouting all your data over bluetooth et-al) and power/charge any reasonably small compatible device placed on it (laptops and monitors might be too beefy). digital cameras and ipods could just have a contact plate on one or more surfaces (the bottom of the camera, the back of the ipod) and would just show up a-la USB in your taskbar when you plonk them on the same desk as your PC. you could register your keyboard to your PC but the mouse might need some backup power onboard for when you're thrashing it about. Desks could be wired together to create workgroups in office spaces, that way everyone would be able to use the printer and scanner on the end table as if it were a native device, though they'd need to be queueable and lockable depending on who was using them, but you could still lock-out other people from messing with the digital camera that's on your desk.
basically expand the computer to include your entire desk, without all the annoying wires
If you don't risk failure you don't risk success.
We need a low power standard (maybe its USB). So can all have many nice small plugs on the edge of our desks to plugin phones, PDAs, etc.
what i'm wondering is how large is the magnetic field that this induction device do? They are still looking at the possibility that the magnetic fields created by power lines may create problem like cancer and stuff. We already have a screen and other low emitting devices in our offices and they are considered dangerous, what if we have something that emit a larger magnetic field for recharge? I guess it would have to be powerful enough to recharge a battery in a acceptable delay or to just be able to make the recharge possible. Or maybe they already found a material sensitive enough that react with low electrical emission? Anyways, wont see me recreate the Manhattan project in my office ;)
Especially if the rate of charge is standard. The applpications are limitless:
- No more travel chargers. Just throw your bluetooth headset and your phone on a pad and be done with it
- Something needs to be charged in a car? Toss it on there.
- Mp3 players would be able to charged while not being plugged into a USB or a separate charger.
Then if microwaves become reality....ooooo.
Imagine a world not dependent on batteries (or that batteries are officially for backup). A world where technology is ran without any wires. It runs on the energy in the air, it syns with radio waves, and it broadcasts wirelessly.
My great grantkids will be so lucky. When I was their age we had to plug in our headphones and plug our music players in to charge. And we only had 60 GB of storage space, not 500TB!
In Soviet Russia, dots slash you!
The Fulton Innovation eCoupled technology looks very promising. If Motorola, Visteon, Mobility and Herman Miller are backing it, you can expect tons of others to follow. Those are four companies that spend a lot of time doing due diligence before they commit to any given technology.
If I can drop my iPod and my RAZR into a cubbie in my car and charge them both wirelessly, I for one will be a very happy man. I'm so sick of losing or forgetting chargers or having them break a connector.
Induction is easier to make waterproof than metal wires.
Patrick Doyle
I mod down every jackass who puts his moderation policy in his sig. Oh, wait a sec....
So then you have a 90Watt electromagnet on your desk. Has anyone wondered yet what will happen to hard disks/microdrives inside laptops and MP3 players?
I have a silly question that'll no doubt expose my ignorance on the matter. With this sort of power, is there a lot of electricity wasted? In other words, would my electric bill go up for the same amount of charging?
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
I don't really think a wire to charge something is major hassle. However, having a wire for a Nokia 6233, another for an older Nokia, one for a Sony camera, one for a portable flash to HDD reader, one for an Icy Box portable HDD, etc. Yeah that's a bit tiresome.
Rather than some induction thing like this, I would rather have most devices chargeable from a standard connector - a USB-type standard for power. The new Nokia connector is tiny - I can't imagine any device it wouldn't fit. I'd just rather have everything use that or AA batteries. It's going to be more efficient than induction too.
Your device could have some sort of solar panel on each side, and the charging pad/emitter could be an intense / invisible spectrum of light to charge. Ideas? Thoughts?
Future ruler of a small Asian-Pacific island
I too have invented a wireless power source, it's very convenient, and I comes in multiple form factors to work with already existing devices. it's relatively cheap, very safe, and once again requires no wires at all. I call them batteries!
Instead of inductively coupling, how about a system that allows for incidental direct connection?
Imagine a "pad" that was made up of a grid of anchored stainless steel ball bearings. Devices would have conductive contact surfaces that incidentally make contact in some fashion when placed on the pad. A microprocessor senses a decrease in resistance and routes 5V between two or more appropriate points on the grid, powering the device. The device would be responsible to step up/down to the appropriate voltage. The pad would have overcurrent and thermal protection to prevent damage and fire due to something like a coin or a twist-tie being dropped onto the pad.
As a feature to tell that a connection has been established, as well as part of the "cool factor" Put LEDs into the grid that are switched on by the microprocessor when a connection has been established.
Okay, the downsides, as I look into with every idea: Those nice leather cases would have to go, or otherwise be redesigned. Also, if you use contacts that corrode easily, then you may have a problem, too. Then there's the potential for scratches on the case of whatever you're charging from coming in contact with the metal ball surfaces.
Just a silly idea I guess...Think of it as the ultimate universal drop-in charger
Unless there has been a complete repeal of the laws of physics then communication by induction will be subject to the law of inverse squares....you know reduction of power by the square of the distance. Tesla seemed to think that this law could be broken, but as to date the transmission of power of any sort by induction is very dependent upon distance, regardless of frequency. However if you believe all the 8hrz hype about alpha waves.... get your tin foil hats ready cause here we come. The claims here sound like the hoopla around http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_Experime nt
We all know that no matter how many leaps and bounds we make it will all be proprietary in the end. Even if we end up being able to power most of our consumer electronics in a wireless environment you will still have to buy some pos with a brand name on it to interface into a purely universal power source. So clap and rejoice all you want, it will be ruined by big business.
Puppy! No!
*zzzzap*
wireless tingling
Look up the ICNIRP and IEEE C95 limits.
Hmmm....
A pad on my desk about 8" from my 'nads and about 12" from my brain.
Best of all, about 6" from my heart.
While magnetic fields fall of rapidly, this is a recipe for litigation. Cell phone basestations have nothing on this.
I guess it would be possile to make a 4th order gradiometer which might help....
I wonder how the 'Pad' one would work with electric cars. Imagine being able to drive into a docking station, waiting a few minutes after you drive over the plate and then go? It seems like a great application for this kind of thing.
This type of device would go great for airlines and trays. One can use portable devices longer and recharge when needed right there on the plane.
\
I recall some fellow techs were working with building planning (.edu) to try
.edu, after all).
and get a conference room wired for power/networks.
Well, the specs were there, but ignored and the floor was poured and set, only
no power, no network.
We were livid (ok, I was amused...this is still a
One of the higher ups grilled the front man about the situation and wireless networks
were just getting usable, and it was decided that was the best option.
Then he had to ask "What about wireless power?"
Ever the diplomat, the front man gave a good answer of "no can do" and maintained composure.
Only after he left, I piped up "Sure you can have wirelss power....It's called LIGHTNING!"
The whole room went silent for a few seconds and then erupted in laughter.
Became a running gag for a few months, too, if we got annoyed at each other we'd do a "spell casting"
motion and shout "wireless power" a few times.
Heh.
Have you read the moderator guidelines? Well, have you, PUNK? (and I want a Karma: Gnarly option)
I think it's more basic than that. Why aren't more devices made using a standard power source?
I think that for small devices, USB should be a standardized charge option.
It's present on all laptops, many palm tops, and iPod chargers show that the idea is quite feasible.
I have a cell phone that uses a combination charger/data cable plug on the bottom of it. The plug is a mini-USB plug. I can plug the phone into the charger, and it charges, 12 volts. I can plug the phone into a USB data cable on my Linux laptop, and it charges. But strangely, not if I'm running Windows or OSX. Also, I can't charge it using an iPod charger - it specifically says "unauthorized charger".
WTF? Why would they do this?
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
Induction coil + RFID + smart-charging circuitry = some nifty device
But one concern is what effect could an induction coil have on magnetic storage media? Sure it might be able to recharge an MP3 player, but what if it also happens to degauss the HDD? Or is the required EM shielding really not that much?
It would be really cool to through anything on to a pad to recharge it but one thing keeps nagging at me that nobody ever seems to ask:
How do you talk on your cellphone and charge it at the same time without resorting to spending money on a headset? Wouldn't you look really silly and be really uncomfortable talking with your head against the table?
More than likely, battery companies would first have to agree on a standard way of building their batteries. They could then sacrifice some battery real-estate to the induction charger. For the consumer, they would have a choice between a longer lasting battery, and a wireless rechargeable battery.