WirelessElectricity
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Patent suggest link between Apple's wireless charging and WiTricity
Along with several rumors that seemed far-fetched, the Wall Street Journal reported last week that Apple is looking at a new charging capability for the 2012 iPhone -- most likely wireless. Now an international patent filing by Apple seems to be linking the company to 2007 startup WiTricity, a group that is working on extending inductive charging to a distance of several meters. HP's Palm Pre uses wireless inductive charging, but requires that the device be in physical contact with the charging "Touchstone." Apple's patent filing, which was first published in May, describes a situation where an iMac is used to create a charging zone. Any device, whether it be a mouse, a keyboard, an iPhone or an iPad, is charged simply by being within 1 meter of the computer. The link between Apple and WiTricity comes from a reference in the patent filing to the original paper published by MIT researchers which is the basis of WiTricity's technology. For a look at a demo of the WiTricity wireless power capabilities in action (including an iPhone powered by the company's technology), check out the video below from the 2009 TED conference.
Video: WiTricity is back, promises wireless power within 18 months
What started out as an MIT project two years ago has now progressed into a full-fledged company -- ladies and gentlemen, meet WiTricity Corp. Auntie Beeb (that's the BBC for you Yanks) has grabbed the firm's CEO Eric Giler to discuss some pretty aggressive plans for bringing wireless power to the masses. Yes, we're talking actual through-the-air wireless as opposed to something like Palm's Touchstone, which requires physical contact between charger and chargee. Based on magnetic induction, the magical technology is apparently mature enough to be deployed in the relatively near future, and if all goes to plan, "near future" could translate into "18 months from now." Also of note, Intel is hard at work developing the original concept, and if the parallel engineering of the same idea by two companies isn't enough to get your skepticism dialed down and your browser to the video past the break, what is?
MIT's wireless electricity demoed, dubbed WiTricity
We always knew Tesla was right: MIT physics professor Marin Soljacic and his team of researchers behind the latest wireless electricity scheme have reportedly demoed their magnetically coupled resonator technology on a 60-watt lightbulb that wasn't plugged in. Of course, no technology should be without a name, and so they've dubbed it WiTricity. Apparently Soljacic thinks it's possible to commercialize WiTricity within the next few years, which would be totally amazing if it was powered by Steorn's humanity-saving infinite energy device. [Warning: subscription req'd for link]
