Wireless Power Gets A Boost 102
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. "
Where there's a will, there's an Inheritance Tax.
Re:it's not wireless chumps (Score:4, Insightful)
What do others think?
Wiki: The term wireless is normally used to refer to any type of electrical or electronic operation which is accomplished without the use of a "hard wired" connection.
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
The term "wireless" should not be confused with the term "cordless"
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
you may as well have wires.
Re:it's not wireless chumps (Score:5, Informative)
you may as well have wires.
Induction is a good thing, maybe a bit cheesy at its inception - but wait until it matures. I had a watch that was charged using induction, it allowed it to recharge without having a connection or contacts exposed.
If this technology improves, it could become very useful.
For example, power induction systems below road surfaces for hybrid and electric vehicles. Cell phone holders in cars that charge without any contacts to become tarnished or bent.
I don't see it replacing all hardwired or contact based connections, but it would be a welcomed addition to many devices that are designed for severe duty.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I have a mechanical watch that's "charged" using a pendulum that moves when I move my arm and winds the mainspring. Perhaps such a system could be adapted to things like iPods that often get used on a person of in a vehicle.
-b.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
If it has a large battery (doubt it) or is designed poorly so that much of the energy is wasted (more likely) it will pickup very little energy.
Depending on the model - it could also be losing energy sitting idle, especially if it has a fancy lcd display or whatnot.
Re: (Score:2)
I had a "charge mat" back in 1992. It was my college Final Project for my electronics engineering degree.
I had a mat that you simply threw your newton, cellphone and other objects on and they charged. I build the inductive coils and circuits that fit in the devices to be charged.
Their idea is not new, and neither was mine. I based my project on research from Tesla and others.
My problem is that the morons at the Patent office will give these idiots a patent on something that is not special in an
Re: (Score:1, Interesting)
I suppose shaking them could eventually charge the battery if it ever died... but it still seems like cheating to me.
Re: (Score:2)
However, some of the cheaper ones don't actually use induction, they just have an unconnected coil of wires and a battery. I know a merchant who had to return a whole crate of them after I noticed the coil didn't seem to connect with anything and after dissecting it found that it didn't, and the slug wasn't even metal.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Same concept, different application. Those flashlights contain a linear generator. Shaking them charges the batteries by essentially shaking a magnet back and forth past some coiled wire. Inductive chargers contain two coils--one inside the charger and one
Re: (Score:2)
Electric toothbrushes (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re:it's not wireless chumps (Score:4, Interesting)
wireless phones (Score:2)
Induction power is not new, so the 'gets a boost' is surprisingly accurate (in that it doesn't promise so
Re:wireless phones (Score:5, Funny)
is that in the make people amazed of new tech way or the hey ya'll watch this, with a tesla coil in the garage way?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
But then I read TFA.
That actually does sound useful.
Re: (Score:1)
I suppose you could make the whole desk an induction charging pad, that way you could chuck a pot on it and cook up some instant noodles.
I, for one ... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:I, for one ... (Score:5, Informative)
From Wikipedia "A transformer is an electrical device that transfers energy from one circuit to another by magnetic coupling with no moving parts. A transformer comprises two or more coupled windings, or a single tapped winding and, in most cases, a magnetic core to concentrate magnetic flux. A changing current in one winding creates a time-varying magnetic flux in the core, which induces a voltage in the other windings."
Think of these devices as each the charging base and the unit to be charged having half the transformer, bring them into proximity of each other and they begin to work. Ok its an over simplification but thats the basics.
Re: (Score:2)
You're partly right (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
One reason why room temperature superconductors are so interesting..
However even such a perfect inductor would still consume power as read by a domestic meter because it measures IV to determine power consumption - of course we could then apply power factor correction, but then
Available since 1997 (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
And personally, between the inconvinience of plugging a battery charger every couple of days for my phone, my MP3 and my handheld console and having a device radiating WATTS in my bedroom, I'll stick to the first option.
Re: (Score:2)
Not having to get under your desk to plug that damn AC/DC adapter. This might not be power over air... but it's a HUGE improvement indeed.
Re: (Score:2)
Hardly revolutionary (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:1)
So let me get this right. So instead of being a frustrated consumer because I'm spending $6.00 for a new power adaptor each time I get a new phone/MP3 player/etc. I now can get frustrated over buying a proprietary inductive coil pick-up unit that I have to jury-rig to the back of my already too small phone/MP3 player...and likely spend 3 times the amount.
If IEEE or someone introduced an open standard for this type of technology, then perhaps it has a much better chance at taking off and being adopted,
Microwave power transmission (Score:5, Interesting)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_power_tran
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Wireless Power through Magnetic Induction (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1, Interesting)
Contrary to popular belief, the majority of Ontario's power does not come from hydroelectric, wind, or solar pow
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
That's the interesting part - the heat is only "wasted" outside of the heating season. During the heating season, it just contributes to home heating energy and reduces your heating tab, slightly. So, depending on your climate, only 30-40% of the energy may go to waste, not the full 60%.
-b.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
But this is the Era of Wall-Warts (Score:2)
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.
Re: (Score:2)
What about standardizing low-voltage electronics at 5V and 12V input voltages whenever possible? Then you could have a big switcher power supply with, say, a dozen outputs to power everything on your desk.
-b.
Just another gadget? (Score:1)
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
Re: (Score:2)
Now if we could also standardize wall outlets worldwide...
wireless chargers VS wireless power supply (Score:1)
I use a cell phone for one week and recharge it for 1 hour a week.
The wireless Desk (Score:3, Interesting)
basically expand the computer to include your entire desk, without all the annoying wires
A low power standard is what we need (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Next to my concerns about magnetic media (see post below [slashdot.org]), I have more concerns about the power consumption when there are no devices on the charge pad. My guess is that there will be an inevitable amount of idle power consumption, because there's no such thing as a zero-impedance coil (yet). Of course this could be fixed by turning off the pad when it doesn't detect any devices
Charge Pads = The future. (Score:1)
- 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
Re: (Score:2)
If there is enough omni-directional microwave power in the air to power devices, there is plenty to effect our bodies. Not sure of the extent of that effect, though.
I've heard stories of workers back in the day standing in front of some big microwave antennas on a mountain near here to keep warm, and using it to cook hot dogs on a stick. I'm not sure as to the validity of the stories, or why they wouldn't make the connection between t
Induction and hard drives (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
That paper talks about securely destroying data. There's a rather big difference between destroying every single bit on a hard disk in a way that it's impossible to recover, and causing a few tiny errors which force the user to run
Re: (Score:2)
This caught my interest the other day; I got several gizmos (shake-to-charge flashlight and a "Magnetix" construction kit toy) that contain pretty powerful magnets. My office still has a lot of old magnetic media around -- floppy disks, cassette tapes -- so I had to pay attention to where I put them, but it occurs to me that those are both pretty obsolete media, being replaced by optical or semiconductor (ie flash) memory. I foun
Re: (Score:2)
Anyhow, we're talking about static magnetic fields here. A wireless power system needs to use an oscilating field, which is a different story. For the rotating platters of a HD, the static
Re: (Score:1)
Has anyone wondered yet what will happen to you?
A microwave radiation of 90W is really a lot, especially if you spend a lot of time in the nearbies. That's a LOT more than the power emitted by your wireless card or bluethoot adapter. Those devices will never be available commercially in Europe, that's because they will never get a CE mark because of obvi
Question (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Not the most obvious solution here (Score:1)
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
Solar panel technology (Score:2)
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?
Re: (Score:2)
Invisible light is either infrared (heat radiation) or it's UV (kills the eyes and skin in the truly invisible spectrum, plus I don't think good UV solar cells exist). But the source could just be a normal desk lamp. Probably not strong enough to charge a laptop, but it may work for things like cell phones, iPods, and calculators with more efficient solar
Re: (Score:2)
I wouldn't hate batteries so much if each new gadget wouldn't be using its own proprietary battery with corresponding proprietary charger, or built-in battery which is nearly impossible to replace. I know AA
Okay steal this one from me and patent it (Score:1)
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 vol
The bad thing is (Score:1)
Wireless power? Don't stand inbetween that. (Score:1)
*zzzzap*
Applications with Electric cars? (Score:1)
Great idea (Score:2)
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.
Funny how time changes a joke's meaning (Score:3, Funny)
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.
More basic than that (Score:2)
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 lapto
Re: (Score:1)
Using the device and Charging at the same time (Score:1)
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?