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Sony applies for wireless power patent, wants to daisy-chain your energy

As much as we're familiar with wireless power, we know developing a truly contact-free form of charging has a whole raft of extra challenges, such as getting into the sweet spot for power delivery and the potential traffic jam caused by throwing another device into the mix. Sony thinks it has these problems licked through a newly-published patent application. Its method uses location-finding to steer users until they're close enough for the wireless power source to reliably do its job. In some cases, it can use one mobile device to relay power to another, keeping everything fed even if the main power hub is tied up. Multiple power sources next to each other can go so far as to decide which of them should be the one to send power. The patent isn't a certain sign that your VAIO or Xperia is about to cut the cord altogether -- Sony first submitted this vision of the future in 2009. Even so, it gives us hope that our gadgets will one day start charging themselves instead of making us hunt down a wire or charging plate.