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Freevolt generates power from thin air
What you see above may look like an unremarkable slice of electronics, but it can theoretically power a low-energy device forever, and for free. If that sounds like a big deal, well... that's because it is. Drayson Technologies today announced Freevolt, a system that harvests energy from radio frequency (RF) signals bouncing around in the ether and turns it into usable, "perpetual power." Drayson isn't exactly a household name, but the research and development company has a particular interest in energy, especially where all-electric racing is concerned. And now it's developed the first commercial technology that literally creates electricity out of thin air.
Intel: Rezence wireless charging will be in next year's devices
As we heard from Intel at its Computex keynote, the merger between A4WP (Alliance for Wireless Power) and PMA (Power Matters Alliance) is finally a signed deal as of today, which is a big step toward delivering the next generation of wireless power -- one that can transmit farther while also covering a wider range of wattage -- to consumers. Intel's SVP Kirk Skaugen, the very same man who's been pushing for the totally wireless PC since last year's Computex (the photo sort of explains why), added that we'll be seeing this magnetic resonance technology, aka Rezence, being integrated into next year's laptops, keyboard, mice and other devices. For those who can't wait, the exec also expects to see Rezence-enabled add-ons for mobile devices during the transitional period. "This will be a journey just like Centrino: We didn't invent wireless notebooks; we just made wireless ubiquitous."
WiTricity's CEO paints a picture of a wirelessly powered future
If WiTricity CEO Alex Gruzen gets his way, the company's tech will soon wind up in your phone, your car and even inside your body. That's because the Massachusetts-based company deals in magnetic resonance technology, and if those words don't mean anything to you now, they probably will before long. You see, WiTricity has been working for the past five years on a way to wirelessly transfer power between devices, and Gruzen told our audience at Engadget Expand NY that the wireless future is basically right around the corner.
Five questions for the man making contactless wireless power a reality
With wireless power demos and proposals going as far back as 2006, what's taking so long? And, most importantly, is it safe? At Engadget Expand, we'll be addressing these questions with WiTricity CEO Alex Gruzen, who will also share his thoughts on the industry.
Dell could incorporate wireless charging in future devices
The Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) has just added a major player to its membership roster: Dell. This marks the first time a big PC maker has come forward to support a wireless charging standard, which A4WP has branded as Rezence. As a part of this announcement, A4WP is also introducing a new high-power specification that would be able to charge devices from 20 to 50 watts, such as, of course, Ultrabooks. In fact, an A4WP spokesperson told us that ideally, a laptop charging with Rezence could also be used to give power to a smaller device, say a smartphone, simply by putting it on top of the former. While such products don't exist just yet, the alliance is hopeful for the first few consumer products with Rezence -- perhaps even a laptop or two -- to debut sometime this year.
PowerKiss joins Power Matters Alliance, plans to expand wireless charging standard in Europe
Now might be the time to familiarize yourself with the Power Matters Alliance (PMA). The industry's most recognizable standard, Qi, is facing serious competition from the PMA, which has garnered support from Duracell Powermat, AT&T, smartphone manufacturers such as BlackBerry and ZTE, and even Starbucks shops, which have begun rolling out its wireless charging tech in certain outlets. Beginning soon, you may be able to charge your compatible smartphone at European McDonald's restaurants, too -- the food service giant's support comes courtesy of Helsinki-based PowerKiss, which is now ditching Qi in favor of the PMA. The move is arguably the Alliance's most significant to date, and it could bring confidence to organizations currently considering their own strategies. It's unfortunate for consumers who may have recently invested in Qi, however -- popular wireless charging spots in major European train stations, for example, will be swapping out their infrastructure to support PMA. According to PowerKiss founder Maija Itkonen, the decision was based on the standard's new technology that enables individual charging sites to monitor usage trends and control consumption, along with significant support from companies throughout the industry. We've even heard speculation that Apple may soon announce support for the PMA standard, though we remain skeptical. Regardless, this is a major blow to Qi, though it could be a significant step forward for consumers -- that $99 Powermat charging set might seem a more-reasonable acquisition now.
Nexus 4 Wireless Charger hands-on
Palm's Touchstone dock immediately came to mind when we first saw LG's Nexus 4 Wireless Charger last fall (now available for $60 in the Play Store). Both devices are circular, with a micro-USB port in back and a slanted front surface on which to rest the phone. That's where the similarities end -- while the Touchstone is cylindrical and uses a proprietary wireless charging system, the Nexus 4 Wireless Charger is larger, spherical and Qi-compatible. Another major difference is that Palm's dock uses permanent magnets to line up and secure the handset, and LG's accessory relies primarily on the friction / suction between a rubber ring and the glass back of Google's flagship phone. Design-wise the Nexus 4 Wireless Charger looks similar to a smaller Nexus Q cut in half, down to the matching recessed square connector cutout. In the box you'll find a 5V 1.8A AC adapter (vs. 1.2A for the one supplied with the Nexus 4) along with a micro-USB cable (longer than the one provided with the handset). The manual warns to "use only the power adapter and micro-USB cable that come with your Nexus 4 Wireless Charger", but we didn't have any trouble with other USB power sources beyond longer charging times. We tested the dock with the Nexus 4, Droid DNA, Lumia 920 and Lumia 822 (with the optional Wireless Charging Cover) -- basically, LG's accessory provides the same experience as Nokia's Wireless Charging Plate ($50), which is also Qi-compatible. The $10 difference buys you a matching design and a spare USB power adapter and micro-USB cable (Nokia's plate comes with a proprietary AC adapter). It takes about 4 hours to fully charge Google's flagship phone using wireless power -- check out the gallery above for some action shots.
Toyota 2013 Avalon Limited packs Qi wireless charging
Few if any of us are fans of buying 12V adapters to keep our phones powered up in the car. Those who buy the just-arriving 2013 Toyota Avalon Limited, if they choose the Technology Package, won't have to. A lid in the upgraded center stack provides Qi wireless charging to keep that Lumia 920 or Nexus 4 topped up without cluttering the console. As always, convenience carries a steep price tag: a gas-only Avalon Limited with the package costs $42,195 before the usual added fees and taxes, while a hybrid bumps that to $43,945. We wouldn't go out of our way just to skip the wires, then, but the wireless power may tip the balance for smartphone fans in the market for an entry-luxury sedan.
Alliance for Wireless Power approves its specification, edges closer to truly cable-free charging
Design by committee might not be the death knell for technology after all. Over four months after the Alliance for Wireless Power was founded in earnest, the coalition has already greenlit a specification for its partners to work from. The guideline lets device makers start building devices that charge through a magnetic resonance technology more forgiving of distance and material than Qi while simplifying the process through short-range wireless formats like Bluetooth 4.0. While the A4WP group hasn't made all the details public, it's holding meetings this week to speed up the commercialization process -- it's here that we'll learn whether the corporate bureaucracy is just as quick at getting wireless charging hardware into our hands as it is handshaking on standards.
JBL intros Power Up speaker to charge your Nokia Lumia 920, pair over NFC
JBL just kicked out a pair of new accessories to go with that new Nokia Lumia 920. The Power Up speaker does more than just start Bluetooth music sharing over NFC -- it has a Qi wireless charging point so that you can just leave your shiny new Windows Phone on top for an extra jolt of energy without looking for that FatBoy pillow. We'll provide more details as they emerge following Nokia's special event.%Gallery-164395% Dana Wollman contributed to this report.
Nokia brings wireless charging to Virgin Atlantic lounges, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
Nokia thinks you'll like the wireless phone charging on your Lumia 920 or 820 enough to want to take it on the road, and to that end it's striking a deal to bring the cable-free experience beyond the home. Both Virgin Atlantic's lounge at Heathrow Airport and countertops at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in the US will let you top up your Windows Phone without having to hunt for a power outlet. We're still waiting on details like the timing, but we're glad to know that we won't have to lug around our FatBoy Recharge Pillows just to keep living in Nokia's vision of the future.
Nokia Lumia wireless charging pad breaks cover
That was quick: we'd heard rumors through The Verge of wireless charging coming to the repeatedly leaked Lumia 920 alongside a pseudo-PureView camera, and the mysterious @evleaks has come through with what looks to be press photos showing the wireless charging pad in action. As long as they're more than just wild imaginings, they reveal a puck-like surface that could juice up both the Lumia 920 and the less ambitious 820. We don't know much more about the charger, although it's expected to use Qi and wouldn't limit the phones and pad to coupling solely with each other. We'll know the bigger picture on September 5th; in the meantime, check after the break for a bonus picture showing both Windows Phone 8 devices with an unnamed Bluetooth headset (likely a Luna variant) that might join the charger in Nokia's accessory line.
Stanford researchers make heart implant powered by radio waves, put batteries out of a job
Batteries used to be the only way to power implantable gadgets, but additional surgeries are needed to replace the power packs once their juice runs out -- a less-than-ideal solution for patients. Recent discoveries, however, have such medgadgets being powered by photons, hip hop and now high-frequency radio waves. Electrical engineers at Stanford built a cardiac device that uses a combination of inductive and radiative transmission of power, at about 1.7 billion cycles per second, to its coiled receiving antenna. Previous prevailing opinion held that the high frequencies needed for wireless power delivery couldn't penetrate the human body deep enough, and the lower frequencies that would do the trick require antennas too large to work as implants. That conundrum was solved by getting the high-frequency signals to penetrate deeper using alternating waves of electric and magnetic fields. That allowed a 10x increase in power delivery -- up to 50 microwatts to a millimeter radius antenna coil -- to an implant five centimeters below the skin. That antenna also was also designed to pull power regardless of its orientation, making it ideal for applications inside always-moving human bodies. Of course, the implant's really just a proof-of-concept at this stage, but hopefully it won't be long before battery powered implants go the way of the dodo TouchPad.
Intel, IDT to make resonance charging a reality, see reference chipset coming in first half of 2013
Intel has been talking up wireless charging for years, to the point where we thought its implementation would forever remain a concept for the lab. Not so: Intel is having Integrated Device Technology (IDT) build a real-world chipset to support resonance charging in our gadgets. The lofty goal is to have a ready-made platform for charging up a mobile device or peripheral just by keeping it close to another device with a charger built-in, such as an Ultrabook; there's none of the unseemly contact plates used with inductive wireless power. Intel's commitment is still very much early and won't put a full, two-way resonance chipset into the hands of hardware makers until sometime during the first half of 2013, let alone into a shipping product. We'll take it all the same, as it just might be the first step toward embracing wireless power on a truly large scale.
Japanese group transmits electricity through 4-inch concrete block, could power cars on roads
The decision to invest in an electric vehicle would be much easier to justify if the car in question offered unlimited range. That appears to be the concept behind a Toyohashi University research group's wireless power prototype, which can successfully transmit electricity through a 10 centimeter-thick concrete block. During a demonstration in Yokohama, Japan, the team sent between 50 and 60 watts of power through a pair of concrete blocks to two tires, which then juiced up a light bulb (you can see the rig just above). The project is called EVER (Electric Vehicle on Electrified Roadway), and could someday be used to keep cars moving along a highway without any need to pull over for a recharge, thanks to a constant stream of electricity coming from below the road. There are some serious obstacles to overcome before EVER can get some wheels turning -- namely, a need to pump nearly 100 times the current maximum load through concrete that's twice as thick as what they've managed today, not to mention improving undisclosed efficiency levels -- but the group reportedly said that it's up to the task, making us fairly optimistic that such a solution could one day get us from A to B without petrol. Until then, you'll probably want to plan out a pit stop or two before you leave the garage.
Scientists tweak wireless power transfer, Tesla nods happily in his grave
Wireless charging may be all the rage these days, but actually beaming electricity -- as sketched above by the man Tesla himself -- still has some snags. North Carolina State U researchers have found a way to possibly vanquish the biggest problem: the difficulty of exactly matching resonant frequencies to amplify current. If external factors like temperature change the tuning of a transmitter even slightly then power drops will occur, but circuitry developed by the NC State scientists would allow receivers to detect these changes and automatically re-tune themselves to match. This could make for more potent car and device charging in the future and, if they stretch the distances a bit, maybe we'll finally get the wire-free utopia Nikola dreamed up 120 years ago.
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.
Samsung, Qualcomm start up Alliance for Wireless Power to take on Qi
Wireless power has until now been closely associated with the Wireless Power Consortium's Qi standard. There's now a second proposed common ground in the Alliance for Wireless Power, or A4WP. Samsung and Qualcomm, along with some help from Powermat, SK Telecom, Ever Win Industries, Gill Industries and Peiker Acustic, are making an alternative that allows for "spatial freedom" between your gadget and the charging source, although whether or not that's better than the 1.6-inch distance of the updated Qi spec is left to the imagination. The strategy doesn't just let your device avoid French kissing the charger: it lets you power up through a material besides a metal plate, and it reduces the cost by eliminating repeaters. A4WP should power everything from low-power headsets through to smartphones and tablets, although with partnership talk just getting started at CTIA Wireless 2012, we wouldn't hold off on buying wired-power gadgets in the near future.
Duracell Powermat WiCC could bring wireless charging to any smartphone, we go hands-on (video)
Powermat may have a bright future, but the company's products to date have been expensive, slightly clunky and a generally imperfect solution for bringing wireless power to mobile devices. That could all change with WiCC. The Wireless Charging Card (WiCC) is an IEEE Power Matters Alliance (PMA) standard, with the potential to integrate Duracell Powermat technology within every mobile gadget. The incredibly thin device resembles those wafer-like SmartMedia cards once used in early digital cameras, with a similar form factor, but significantly more practicality. Each WiCC includes all the PowerMat circuitry found in the company's charging cases, while also doubling as an NFC antenna. The card's success is of course contingent on cooperation from device manufacturers, who will need to add a slim connector above the battery leads, including two for power, two for NFC and two for data -- an app will monitor charging. Powermat reps say that such a connector would cost pennies to implement, however, making it a potentially easy sell.Powermat President Daniel Schreiber sees this as a major breakthrough for the smartphone industry, saying "we're going to do for wireless power what the memory card did for storage in mobile phones." We had a chance to take a look at a mock-up of the wireless card at MWC, which was resting just above the battery in a Samsung Galaxy S II. Because the phone's battery is slightly recessed, both the card and battery fit below the device's original backplate -- the WiCC lies flush with the phone's camera lens. Overall, we think there's some serious potential here, assuming device manufacturers are game to come on board. Still, don't expect to see these hitting stores anytime this year -- the company expects its other products to come to market long before the Wireless Charging Card. So for now, jump past the break to take a closer look, but don't make any plans to toss that power adapter just yet.
Nissan Leaf to get inductive charging, lose its stem in 2013 (video)
Nissan has big plans for the still-budding Leaf. The Japanese automaker lit up its impressive Leaf-powered Smart House at the Tokyo Motor Show last week, but also demoed its wireless charging solution for a much smaller crowd at the company's Oppama factory. The device uses electromagnetic induction to transfer power between a charging pad and a receiver on the bottom of the car, with an efficiency level between 80 and 90 percent -- simply park your EV directly above the system to begin charging, and monitor progress on the ground transmission unit's control panel. The pad is expected to become available as soon as 2013, but will only be compatible with new vehicles, so you won't be able to use it with an older Leaf, unfortunately. There's a silent demo video waiting for you just past the break.
