uBEAM TECHNOLOGY IS HERE
Current wireless technologies are based on contact of the devices onto a wireless charging pad. A one Meredith Perry, 25, an astrobiologist accidentally stumbled upon something even more exciting: the ability to charge portable electronics, like cellphones and laptops, wirelessly using ultrasound.
This is a step ahead in wireless charging of devices we use on a daily basis, this technology takes electricity, converts it into sound and sends that audio through the air over ultrasound. Then a receiver attached to a portable electronic device catches the sound and converts it back into electricity. Here you are able to charge a device while freely moving around a room, in a pocket or purse.
This technology is known as, uBeam,and was announced on Wednesday with a working early prototype concept which was turne into a fully functional prototype that the company now plans to build for consumers.
uBeam technology is also envisioned to bring significant changes to how devices are designed as gadgets that work with uBeam could have thinner batteries and constantly receive power. The uBeam products will be on store shelves within the next two years, the company said. Ms. Perry said that the company planned to make two different charging products at first. One will be built for smaller rooms, like homes and offices, and the other, for much larger uBeam chargers, will be industrial-size for stadiums, airports, hotels, conference halls and music venues.
The uBeam charging capabilities do have some serious limitations, including the power transmitters’ inability to beam through walls. This means that unlike Wi-Fi hotspots, where a single device can transmit Internet to an entire house or small office, uBeam users would have to buy transmitters for each room.
There is also the question of adoption. Short-range wireless battery charging technology has been around for years, yet people have been slow to add it to their home or office. But uBeam says that will change because its technology can transmit farther distances, and because the company expects to have the transmitters in many places that people visit.
The company is filing 18 patents related to wireless charging and ultrasound with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It is also in the process of closing a Series A round of financing, in addition to an earlier $1.7 million seed round from Marissa Mayer, Yahoo’s chief executive; Founders Fund; and Andreessen Horowitz.
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