WiPower touts breakthrough in wireless power

While it's far from the first to claim that wireless power is just around the corner, upstart WiPower looks to at least have some numbers to back up its boasting, and it also has the University of Florida in its corner. According to the two, their system not "approaches commercialization," but actually "exceeds the efficiency of most corded chargers." More specifically, they say that, "in a laboratory environment," their system achieves an efficiency of about 68%, a number they think could eventually reach 80%. That's opposed to the median efficiency of 58% found in many corded power supplies today, some of which drop as low as 16%, according to WiPower. While the company isn't quite ready to say exactly how close to commercialization the technology is, it apparently plans up the ante significantly within the next few months, when it says it'll "leapfrog" the competition by demonstrating the system charging a laptop computer.

[Rainier @ Sep 24th 2007 2:56PM]

For a second I thought the headline read "WiiPower"

[foxdude0486 @ Sep 24th 2007 3:00PM]

I was thinking the same thing, but I can't say I wouldn't mind seeing this thing in action with a laptop. Cordless charging laptop would be very nice..

[Norock @ Sep 24th 2007 6:08PM]

I'm thinking perhaps a few special tables at coffee shops reserved for laptop users... Advertising a place to do your business/homework/studying/movie watching/etc. without having to plug it in and stuff would be pretty popular, I'd think.

[SKI @ Sep 25th 2007 8:24AM]

Maybe this tech is going into the Wii Fit pad so when you aren't using it, it could wirelessly charge the Wiimote.

[Jonathan Keim @ Sep 24th 2007 3:00PM]

I don't know if I'd risk my new devices once this does come out... at least not until I read some reviews.

This is definitely not a technology a person wants to be an early adopter on in my opinion

[zfurie @ Sep 24th 2007 3:27PM]

He also made a cat replicator.

[nih @ Sep 24th 2007 9:54PM]

I hear this magical energy product can do 5d20 damage to your portable devices. If it scores a critical they have to pretend they're a new device.

[peterskruger @ Sep 24th 2007 3:02PM]

umm, wireless power is really old. Read Tesla work in Colorado Springs in 1899. I have the book that is all of his notes. it worked, it was efficient, and GE smacked it down because they couldnt charge money for it

[paloooz @ Sep 24th 2007 3:10PM]

Or for a more interesting read, look for the solid state, modulated musical tesla coils. I saw them at dragoncon this year. Quiet awesome ... Here's a video:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3ff_AXVlo9U

These can produce polyphonic sounds:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=VX5V_9s0Gfw

[Eric @ Sep 24th 2007 3:18PM]

He also made a hat replicator.

[The Blotch @ Sep 24th 2007 6:36PM]

lmao hat replicator... i love that movie!

[nih @ Sep 24th 2007 9:56PM]

Tesla was a crackpot on the same level as the Steorn conartists. Read your Wikipedia.

[ryan @ Sep 24th 2007 11:42PM]

yeah, because everyone knows that wikipedia is the be-all and end-all of what is truth and what is fiction.

[Grant @ Sep 24th 2007 3:02PM]

and people were afraid of cell phone radiation.
Just wait til the public media catches word of this and starts it's witch hunt.

[edgore @ Sep 24th 2007 3:05PM]

Wow! I am amazed! It can charge a USB iPod Shuffle magically , without an adapter/reciever of any sort by just laying the shuffle on the pad?!?!

That is incredible.

Or bullshit. I'm leaning toward bullshit.

[staniel @ Sep 24th 2007 3:08PM]

No?

It's called inductance. Any electric toothbrush uses the exact same principle to charge, so you don't electricute yourself when you plug that baby in, hands soaking wet.

Tesla's system was not that efficient. As far as I remember, he shut the whole town of CSprings down when he ran his experiments.

[edgore @ Sep 24th 2007 3:24PM]

Yes, I am familiar with inducation. Are you familiar with the fact that the toothbrush you use as an example has hardware built into the base that is specifically designed to recieve power from the base to recharge a battery in the handle of the toothbrush?

What I am commenting on is that it's ridiculous to show a usb device being charged by this thing. In order for that to work you would need to plug a converter into the ipod shuffle that can recieve electricity from the pad, convert it to the proper voltage and amperage and charge the shuffle. Or, you would have to redesign the shuffle to work with this specific technology.

The bullshit is not wireless power, its picturing devices that was not designed for wireless power magically charging without any adapters. You would either need adapters or all new gadgets designed to work with this technology. I am guessing though that they are trying to play down the idea that you you would have to plug adpaters into your existing gadgets before you can use then with this.

Is there an original article to read? I didn't see a link.

[rrandrews @ Sep 24th 2007 3:37PM]

They make replacement back plates for the devices. Cell phones would be easy for a consumer to modify--mp3 players and the like, not so much.

[wombat @ Sep 24th 2007 6:42PM]

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

- Arthur C. Clarke

[engadget @ Sep 24th 2007 3:07PM]

Surprised they didn't call it iPower

But I would love to see this teck come to home use.
Come home drop the Cell phone / PDA / MP3 Players / Headsets on the table for the night, and in the morning they're fully charged & ready to go again.

At work, have it built into the desk, set the laptop down & be running without cords. It also be nice for the other devices on the desk, Picture frames, Printers, LCD monitors ect.

[Jonathan Keim @ Sep 24th 2007 3:26PM]

How about the whole house :-)

Wireless TVs, Wireless Sweepers, Wireless Power to Speakers, Wireless Alarm clocks, Wireless Lights, etc.

[pball_inuyasha @ Sep 24th 2007 9:31PM]

your forgetting something when your talking about the speakers, alarm, clock, lights, and so on.
They have to sit on the base and the base has a cord on it that you plug in. It's not wireless like a cellphone, it just sits on the base and doesn't have to be connected just touching

[Jonathan Keim @ Sep 24th 2007 10:13PM]

not at this point, but why not in 10 years?

[Jason Flesch @ Sep 25th 2007 10:18AM]

I work with this technology (see: www.tagnetics.com). You have to realize that in order to charge a feul cell (i.e. a battery) that is large enough to power a TV or anything of its size for that amount of time would be huge. Pumping that much electromagnetic power out of a base station is capable of doing all sorts of harm to things such as pace makers. FCC would have a great time with that. However, lighting may be possible as well as other house hold devices.

This technology is really only practical for LOW power transfer. Not running your refrigerator or charging your hybrid car!!!

[Mike Jenkins @ Sep 24th 2007 3:08PM]

Go Gators!

[JediFonger @ Sep 24th 2007 3:09PM]

one thing that the .gov have to watch out for is to test whether or not this will INCREASE your chances of getting struck by lightning.

test it in lightning/tornado alley in TX+OK. i'd hate to be struck by lightning just for the sake of convenience =P

[Zach @ Sep 24th 2007 3:10PM]

Team one of these up with a photovoltaic cell and charge anything off of ambient light.

[McLandre23 @ Sep 24th 2007 3:16PM]

product already exists http://www.wildcharge.com/

[Ian @ Oct 11th 2007 8:42AM]

These guys have been nearly ready for business for months. I bet they were pi**ed when Apple redesigned there IPod range, the adaptor you have to plug on the back of the device to enable it is, overnight, out of date.

So you need a different attachment for every portable device, it makes the sexy looking iconin design look like a piece of dog turd, that they want you to leave on all the time....making it twice as big.

This technology will only catch on once one of the players gets a design-in win with a big mobile phone player, and for that they need some one else big to commit to providing charging stations every where. Otherwise you got to carry your charging pad with you when you go away, or you take teh standard wall wart with you... oops well there is the elephant in the corner!

[Drew @ Sep 24th 2007 3:38PM]

New Invention Wireless power! Oh wait, that was the original form of mass-consumer transmitted power. Even better, it's taught in every High School physics class in America.

Anyways see, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_power. Maybe if they called it a "wireless transformer" or "super transformer", people would be less likely to shoot it down. Come on... you know what a transformer is. It's that block you attach to your laptop that gets to 200 degrees every time you use it. Which then becomes useless when the 10c plastic plug on the end breaks and no longer works on your laptop. Have no fear, you can buy a whole new cable for $100 from your local e-tailor.

Wait, maybe thats why wireless power is still "new" sounding instead of the most utilized technology on the planet.

[Anthony @ Sep 24th 2007 3:45PM]

What about: http://www.wildcharge.com/ ?

Engadget ran numerous stories on this & it went nowhere...

In fact, I emailed them months ago for an update & got "recipient's inbox is full.." never a good sign.

[David S. @ Sep 24th 2007 4:13PM]

Look at the photos - the Nano has to dock into something that hooks into the bottom and makes it twice as thick as it normally is. That's progress? Sure - you can charge it wirelessly - but it also ceases to be a Nano.

[SuperChuck @ Sep 24th 2007 3:59PM]

How has inductive power become wireless power?

I guess there's not a wire, per se, but physical contact is required. It's a little like calling a USB thumbdrive "wireless USB storage".

I love the technology, I've been waiting for it for a long time, but it still faces the same problems as all technology: standardization. All your devices could use the same charger if they'd all just agree on one standard. I can't imagine manufacturers bending over backward to support a 3rd party charger.

[blade417 @ Sep 24th 2007 4:02PM]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm waiting for someone to develop a wireless tazer.

Can you imagine how much fun that would be...

[wtf @ Sep 24th 2007 6:01PM]

even worse than that:
http://www.engadget.com/search/?q=pain+gun

[David S. @ Sep 24th 2007 4:09PM]

I can't believe Big Extension Cord and Big Power Adapter would ever let this see the light of day.

[Dae @ Sep 24th 2007 4:12PM]

"i'll buy that for a dollar" Its the Future i Tell you.

But seriously this is the solution to my charging my problem. Tell me, who forgets to charge their phone, ipod or what ever device at night because you tell yourself that you'll plug it in later because the cord fell behind the dresser where its plugged into the wall? Or you simply cant find the cord end because its tangled with every other charger cord. ITS MADNESS!!


cool stuff.

[Ian @ Sep 24th 2007 4:12PM]

If one buys an electric toothbrush it's quite likely it already incorporates a form of this technology today.

[Jason Flesch @ Sep 24th 2007 4:33PM]

Ian,
You are right! This "inductive power transfer" technology exists in many products today. I work for an electronic shelf label(ESL) company out of Dayton, OH. We engineer, manufacture, sell and install ESL systems in grocery stores across the country. Our Shelf tags contain NO BATTERY! they are powered by a patented for of this technology call inductive coupling.

The Greatest part of this technology is that it is not only good for power but you can also communicate with it. In addition, there are not metal connections to be corroded or shorted out.

check out:

www.tagnetics.com

[nih @ Sep 24th 2007 10:00PM]

That there is the most reasonable, intelligent use of induction I've ever seen.

[paul-engadget @ Sep 24th 2007 4:29PM]

also here:
http://www.splashpower.com/

[spam_from_engadget @ Sep 24th 2007 6:28PM]

> median efficiency of 58% found in many corded
> power supplies today

Hmm, so the mains goes right into their thing does it? I bet not; they'll have a 75% (maybe 85%) efficient wall-wart too. They need to compare their efficiency not with a "corded power supply", but with a "corded connector".

Frankly I see this as part of the environmentally-unfriendly equilibrium. We make gadgets more power efficient, so someone finds a way to offset that by making them charge less efficiently.

[fraxyl @ Sep 24th 2007 7:22PM]

When they say wireless charging, do they actually mean that it transfers through the air or just without wires? It seems like you have to place whatever it is you want to charge on a plate, which is more convenient than say, finding a cord to plug into, but it still charges through contact, right?

[rrandrews @ Sep 24th 2007 8:20PM]

Right. The term "wireless power" is misleading. As someone said above, you wouldn't refer to your USB flash drive as "wireless storage."

Anyway, this kind of thing would integrate well into something like Microsoft Surface, but right now it's pretty much a solution to a problem that nobody has. "Gee, wouldn't it be great if, instead of plugging my cell phone into an outlet, I could use an expensive placemat that plugs into an outlet?"

[lanejasper69 @ Sep 24th 2007 7:42PM]

Jesus people, Bitch MORE about it!!! I'm sure, you all sound like a bunch of little well, "Bitches" either like it or don't.

Faslane

There I said it!

[cal @ Sep 24th 2007 10:24PM]

It charges through inductive coupling which is wireless. It does not have to be touching the plate, just lying above it, the closer the better. The plate sets up an electromagnetic field. You could not extend this to powering your whole house as one commenter suggested because the power requirement grow exponentially with distance between the power antenna (charging block) and the receiving antenna (device).

[Dave @ Sep 25th 2007 5:47AM]

Induction will induce a current in any coil so if you put a laptop on an induction plate like this a current will be induced in the coils in the disc drive motors even the motors in the fans. If the devices are not designed to account for this back EMF from coils it is very probable that some devices will be terminally damaged.

[Jo @ Oct 5th 2007 5:20PM]

Oh dear what an overstated claim, a wall wart, which the charging surface will need is at best 75% efficient, and no claiming they are as low as 2-% efficient is also tosh, closer to 50% worst case.

So wall wart plus electronics to create primary drive, plus secondary coil, rectifier, regulator, and charge control = poor efficiency. Sorry Guys but the environmentally-unfriendly equilibrium is right here, worse efficiency, usinge even more planet resource on yet another charging non standard platform is bad. Yes it may look cool, but just think about what it is and what it took to produce.

Best way for this to work is through an agreement with other companies working on this technology, better still get into bed with Murata/Epson/Seiko, and quick...

[Ian @ Oct 8th 2007 3:47AM]

Efficiency figure is way high and claiming it would be better than the best wall warts is, well not true. The coul to coil energy transfer may be the figure quoted, but you got to power the pad, from the mains, convert this to a suitabbly safe voltage to apply to the primary. The secondary mounted in the device to charge will need a rectifier, regulation and charge control circuitry (to charge the battery). This will furthe nobble the efficiency.

The standard wall wart, a good one can be upto 80% efficient, you'll need one of these to power the pad plus some circuitry to create the AC signal to drive the primary.

It's a good idea, but with the drive for 80plus efficiencies, and the need to incorporate the receiver in the portable device, (that has low metal content, minimal iron/steel to heat through induction) will be a tough nut to crack, got to keep those LiIon cells cool otherwise they fry!

Splashpower has been promising a solution since 2003, now reporting latter part of 2008 (Boston Post articla on ecoupled, another wireless player), these guys should talk to each other... develop a standard, and align the technology via a multisource agreement and then maybe they will get some traction. Still need to be mor honest about the true, overall system efficiency though otherwise this will be a target for those striving for higher efficiency, which I think will start to become legislation/mandatory in the near future....

[Ian @ Oct 8th 2007 4:28AM]

98% is rubbish, you'll need a wall wart (80% efficient at best) to supply juice to the primary in the pad!