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Power Technology

PowerBeam Demos Wireless Electricity At CES 109

Posted by timothy
from the where-to-throw-wet-towels-now? dept.
JadedApprentice writes "Caught a mention of this startup yesterday on CNBC while they were reviewing the latest gadgets at CES. In the off chance that there was anything remotely feasible or safe about the wireless power prototypes PowerBeam had on display, I took a quick google and found this nice little write-up on the technology (along with some priceless comments for those that scroll down, and I'm not talking about those on the page below). Bottom line: while it's possibly safe, it may not be efficient and it sure as hell won't power your 1200W gaming rig, the guys at PowerBeam are hoping the convenience of wireless power delivered through directed IR lasers will not only give you the coolest living room in town, but make them very rich in the process" This may be the only one using lasers, but there's a fair gaggle of wireless power schemes on the floor at CES. Besides several chargers limited to charging the controllers of specific game consoles, I walked through a working high-concept demo put on by PowerMat (also mentioned in that PC Magazine article), which relies on dedicated per-device sleeves and dongles to power cameras, phones, and other necessary pocket-fillers; the sleeve-equipped devices then sit to charge on one of the PowerMat induction mats. That means that if your gizmo isn't one for which a sleeve or dongle is available, you're out of luck, unless it uses AA or AAA batteries (there's a charger made to fit on the mat) or can be powered by USB (for which the company has hockey-puck sized USB-power sources, which, Yes, sit on the induction mat). Impressive, but at $30 a pop, that would mean a fair outlay to convert many gadgets to use such a system.
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PowerBeam Demos Wireless Electricity At CES More

PowerBeam Demos Wireless Electricity At CES

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  • IR lasers seem like a good way to power remotes co (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Joe The Dragon (967727) on Saturday January 10, 2009 @08:32PM (#26403417)

    IR lasers seem like a good way to power remotes and you can then have them use rechargeable batteries.

  • What's the point? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by zwekiel (1445761) on Saturday January 10, 2009 @08:37PM (#26403457)
    The quest for wireless electricity has been going on since the days of Tesla, and despite innumerable dollars spent on research and development, we have made precious little progress. Wireless electricity has again and again proved to be unfeasible, and ultimately, pointless. I've never understood why people are so eager to find a true wireless electricity system. While it is certainly an interesting novelty to impress people with, it has very little application in the real world. Most devices which are grounded to an outlet are often the kind of objects we don't lug about, like TVs, printers, or cable boxes. None of these devices will benefit from wireless electricity. For the rare device which is portable, but occasionally requires a power connection, like a laptop, the wire tends to be long enough and unobtrusive enough that wireless electricity is just not really an issue. I think it's safe to say with all the non-news we hear about wireless electricity ever year, I'll be using wireless electricity to power my Phantom console which will run Doom 3.

  • Re:Wireless Plumbing (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Enderandrew (866215) <enderandrew@gma i l .com> on Saturday January 10, 2009 @08:59PM (#26403639) Homepage Journal

    My point (and it wasn't just a bad joke) is that wireless power will only have select uses. If I have to run plumbing in my walls, I might as well run power in my walls. Why go with inefficient wireless power, and drop money on it as well?

    There is a nifty-gadget aspect of placing devices on a table and having them charge auto-magically, but for the most part wireless power is a waste.

  • Re:What's the point? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by CaptScarlet22 (585291) on Saturday January 10, 2009 @09:18PM (#26403779)

    Lighting a room perhaps? Just imagine how interior decorators would use wireless electricity to plan out a room.

  • Re:IR lasers seem like a good way to power remotes (Score:3, Interesting)

    by ILuvRamen (1026668) on Sunday January 11, 2009 @03:43AM (#26405853)
    I'm pretty sure I've seen a video of an IR laser lighting a piece of paper on fire. What's the point of wireless connections like that if you can't walk through them without bursting into flames? You might as well just use a cable. As for what they say about wirelessly charging batteries, well I'd rather see batteries that can flash charge in like 15 seconds. That'd be sweet even if it's wired, which of course it would be. It'd probably take longer to charge the capacitor than the battery too but hey, it'd be awesome! It's not that hard to get 1AH or less of energy from a wall outlet either using some relatively cheap equipment.

  • Re:Already cracked (Score:3, Interesting)

    by TooMuchToDo (882796) on Sunday January 11, 2009 @04:24AM (#26405965)

    You laugh. Ever stand under high-tension power lines holding a fluorescent tube above your head? Try it some time. You'll find the results surprising.

    1000+ Fluorescent lights powered by overhead cables

    http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2007/05/1000_fluorescent_lights_p.html [makezine.com]

  • Re:Problems (Score:3, Interesting)

    by jnnnnn (1079877) on Sunday January 11, 2009 @05:54AM (#26406221)

    in 3 dimensions which means that you're now getting useful output power proportional to the inverse cube of your input

    Actually, it's only inverse square. If there is no appreciable absorbtion in the medium, the power spreads out over the surface of an expanding sphere.

    I agree with your other comments.

Stupidity got us into this mess -- why can't it get us out?

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