Gadgets, Technology
WiTricity – wirelessly charge your gadgets
An American company has created a wireless system that charges up gadgets in a handbag or suit pocket. The ‘WiTricity‘ system works similarly to the chargers for electric toothbrushes, but over a distances of up to eight feet, using ‘repeater pads’ that send power through the home.
The makers hope the technology could lead to vacuum cleaners that need no cable and electric cars which you simply park on top of a charger. The WiTricity system uses ‘resonator repeaters’ which channel magnetic fields through the home to power up batteries via a receiver coil.
The technology, which will start appearing in gadgets from later this year, could also be used for tablets and small games consoles. The American company behind it hopes that gadget companies will make special batteries with receiver coils to work with the system – or gadgets such as vacuum cleaners built to work wirelessly.
And in the future the researchers believe they may be able to charge electronic cars and even heart pumps via a similar connection. The technology has been developed by the WiTricity Corporation in Watertown, Massachusetts in the US.
Eric Giler, the company’s chief executive, told that it was based on the technology used to charge electronic toothbrushes, which is known as magnetic induction.
In the case of a toothbrush, the magnetic coil in the base creates a magnetic field which is caught by partner coil in the brush, causing it to charge up. The WiTricity system channels power from an induction coil to a similar ‘receiving’ coil inside or attached to a gadget – power can even ‘bounce round’ objects in the home.
This only works within a short distance however because the primary coil is not that strong. WiTricity expands this principle using a wireless connection so that it works up to several feet away, and perhaps even further.
The company has signed a deal with a semiconductor company in Taiwan to produce the coils, although the components will not be made available to the public. If WiTricity is used by phone makers it will remove the pain of having to charge your mobile in public.
Imagine a future in which wireless electricity makes everyday products more convenient, reliable, and environmentally friendly.
A future in which the cell phones, game controllers, laptop computers, mobile robots, even electric vehicles capable of re-charging themselves without ever being plugged in.
Flat screen TV’s and digital picture frames that hang on the wall—without requiring a wire and plug for power. Industrial systems and medical devices made more reliable by eliminating trouble prone wiring and replaceable batteries.
Flat screen TV’s and digital picture frames that hang on the wall—without requiring a wire and plug for power. Industrial systems and medical devices made more reliable by eliminating trouble prone wiring and replaceable batteries.
