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FCC Approves First Wireless 'Power-At-A-Distance' Charging System (engadget.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the first-of-its-kind dept.

The FCC has approved the first wireless charger that works from up to three feet away. Engadget reports: San Jose-based startup, Energous, announced on Tuesday that it has received the first such FCC certification for power-at-a-distance wireless charging with its WattUp Mid Field transmitter. The transmitter converts electricity into radio frequencies, then beams the energy to nearby devices outfitted with a corresponding receiver. This differs from the resonant induction method that the Pi wireless charging system relies upon and offers a greater range than the Belkin and Mophie chargers that require physical contact with the device. The WattUp can charge multiple devices simultaneously and should work on any number of devices, from phones and tablets to keyboards and earbuds, so long as they're outfitted with the right receiver. What's more, the WattUp ecosystem is manufacturer-agnostic -- like WiFi -- meaning that you'll still be able to, for example, charge your Samsung phone even if the transmitter is made by Sony or Apple.

7 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. Nice by nospam007 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I bet California, who recently warned about having your cellphone near your body, will just love this.

  2. Re:Just Use a Tesla Coil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Remote control, wireless transmission of power, alternating current, multi-phase alternating current, induction motors, incandesent bulbs...the list does go on. Like many brilliant men he had illusions of grandeur and he had a 19th century mindset because, well, he was born and raised in the 19th century.

    You ranting about a few of his crack pot ideas doesn't make him less of a genius. It just means that like most geniuses especially prior to the 20th century, he had a few crackpot ideas.

  3. Inverse square law. by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 4, Insightful
    If the wavefront is spherical the power density (watts/m^2) will drop quadratically. That is, if you go ten times farther the power available will drop 100 fold. This is why Tesla's humongous tower near New York could not transmit any usable amount of power to anyone. We have not repealed that law in the last 100 years.

    Unless there is a communication protocol between the devices and the charger and a pencil like beam could be created, steered and transmitted, the efficiency of this device likely to be very poor, and the range extremely limited.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    1. Re:Inverse square law. by Anne+Thwacks · · Score: 3, Funny
      We have not repealed that law in the last 100 years.

      The Australian government is probably working on that as we speak.

      --
      Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
    2. Re:Inverse square law. by RNLockwood · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's the incandescent bulb of power efficiency.

      --
      Nate
  4. Re:Just Use a Tesla Coil by Known+Nutter · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You're a tool.

    --
    Beware of the Leopard.
  5. Sorry about the physics and biology involved... by Ancient_Hacker · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Sorry, but your basic physics and biology make this idea a no-go. Re biology, it takes just milliwatts per square centimeter to cause cataracts. Most remote-power uses require a lot more than a few milliwatts per square cm of receiving antenna. Regarding the physics, you need area to capture power and the power goes down as the square of the distance. Those two main issues combined mean you can't send much power more than a few inches.