In the quest to make our live truly “wireless,” tech startup Powercast has developed a method to wirelessly transmit power via radio waves. The company says that it harnesses the energy of radio waves to power and recharge devices equipped with a special receiver. This promising new technology has the potential to cut one of the last wires in out lives – the one tethering your mobile device to the charger.
The technology comprises a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter plugs into a standard AC outlet and sends energy-laden radio waves to a small, low-cost receiver embedded in a mobile device. The receiver transforms the radio-wave energy into DC power and costs as little as $5 to manufacture, giving it tremendous appeal to mobile device manufacturers.
The theory behind the technology seems fairly straight forward, and has been experimented with before. The problem with transmitting power in radio waves is that it tends to bounce off walls and arrive at different times with different voltages.
Powercast founder and CEO, John Shearer, realized that they could “grab that static and harness it, it’s all energy.” And he set off with his team to build a receiver that could be tuned to capture various frequencies at once.
After four years of research, Shearer had developed just such a device. The receiver uses circuits that adapt to different loads and field strengths resulting from the “static” bouncing off various surfaces. The transmitter and receiver setup is designed for safe, low-wattage energy broadcasting – helping Powercast earn quick FCC approval for their device.
Already in cahoots with over 100 companies, the tech startup recently inked a deal with its first major partner – Philips. The first product from this partnership will be a wirelessly powered LED light stick slated for a 2007 release, with more computer peripherals expected in 2008.
Soon, all our mobile devices will charge their sugar-water batteries as they sit in our pockets.