09-08-2012, 09:55 AM
Wireless Power is the Future
Wireless Power is the Future.docx (Size: 102.12 KB / Downloads: 64)
All around us, we now have wireless phones, wireless internet, wireless charging, wireless speakers, wireless remotes, wireless controllers, etc. - the desire is apparent: we refuse to be tethered by our appliances. But we are not free yet... there is still a final obstacle that must be overcome.
Electrical cords: like snakes they slither over desks, around table legs, under workstations, and behind televisions. Their serpentine omnipresence is enough to drive Indiana Jones to the height of fear, and sufficient to take an ordinary consumer to the pinnacle of annoyance. Cords entwine our legs, tax our organizing skills, and get chewed by pets, only to be purchased again (at a massive mark-up price) out of sheer necessity. I say, "No more!"
Thankfully, a team of MIT scientists led by Marin Soljačić are well on the way to curing our woeful need to plug in our electrical devices. In 2006, they successfully transferred power wirelessly from a "resonant source" to a "resonant capture device" attached to a 60 watt light bulb over seven feet away. The process, which they call "magnetic resonance coupling," sounds straight out of Star Trek. In 2007, they took this technology and formed a new company, WiTricity. The MIT team has been working to rid the world of wires ever since.
Think about it. In the future, there might be only one power source embedded in a structure; no outlets and no cords. You could place electrical devices wherever you want. Your computer workstation and your entertainment center would no longer be a certifiable fire hazard. Your cellphone would never die or annoy you with cries of "low battery" like a chirping bird squawking for more worms.
It is perhaps because of this utopian vision that companies are clamoring to partner with WiTricity. This year alone, the company has announced partnerships with six other firms, including Toyota. In addition, on June 23rd, WiTricity was one of ten companies to receive a General Electric "Ecomagination" Award, accompanied by an undisclosed investment prize from a $63 million dollar pot. The future for wireless power looks bright, indeed.