New company called Energous developed a method of wireless power transmission over long distances. Its prototype system can transmit up to 10 watts, which is more than enough to charge your smartphone or tablet, at a distance of five meters - and, more importantly, keeps track while moving. The company hopes to commercialize its technology in the near future, and demonstrate it on the CES in January 2015.
It seems that technology Energous may be the first generation of wireless charging, severely different from those strange, charging only for short distances, devices which we are already tired of the order. May soon come true dream that your device will be charged while you're standing in line or sitting on the couch.
Usually when we talk about wireless charging, we are referring to magnetic resonance, when you have two coils of wire (antenna), which are tuned to a specific frequency. When you pass electricity through a coil, there is a resonant electromagnetic field in the other coil, quite effectively transmitting energy through the air. However Energous works differently.
According to Technology Review, Energous uses a different technique, consisting of "many small antennas." This antenna array sends radio waves in the next mobile devices that make their presence known through Bluetooth. Unfortunately, the details of the system is very, very limited. But over all it is clear that some forms ray transmitting beam of electromagnetic radiation to a specific device. Maximum range, apparently, 4.7 meters. Efficiency rather modest (about 20%), but in the case of tiny power mobile devices is not critical.
For transmitting wireless energy Energous uses a special case, in which you put your case. Again, there is no data that is inside spetsialnogo case. Probably a bunch of antennas and coils. At CES 2015 will be a lot of these cases, if you believe Energous.
Although Energous may not be such support in the industry, like WiTricity, its system is interesting because it does not use magnetic resonance. In this technique there are strict rules (limited by classical physics), which significantly limit the potential of wireless power transmission.
Who knows. Perhaps with Energous (or WiTricity) soon we will live in a world in which your mobile device will be constantly recharged while you sit on the couch or standing in line at the cafe. Wireless energy transfer can also be key to feeding large networks (smart homes and smart cities), without having to connect each device to the network.