Startup Hopes to Recharge Batteries Without Wires
Wireless networking promises to free handhelds from being chained to the network by cables. However, that won't be enough for complete liberation; even handhelds with wireless networking will still need to be plugged in occasionally to recharge their batteries. A startup named MobileWise says it has developed a way to wirelessly recharge a handheld or laptop.
The company is being very closemouthed about how this works. All it will say is it "is a revolutionary surface that allows safe charging of any MobileWise compatible device placed atop the surface." The company seems to be envisioning a setup in which a handheld or other device is always being charged whenever it is lying on a desk.
MobileWise plans to make the devices themselves for other companies and licence the technology to handheld and peripheral makers by the fourth quarter of this year.
The company's chairman is Bill Maggs, the former chief technology officer at Palm Inc.
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RE: Hope there's more to this
RE: Hope there's more to this
My electric tooth brush does the same thing too, it ...
RE: Hope there's more to this
RE: Hope there's more to this
Brain damage
Wireless power
RE: Wireless power
RE: Wireless power
RE: Wireless power
And one other thing.. major eletro magnetic radiation would not just hit your induktor but also your brain etc... hua!!
These days when you even get cancer from potato chips I would think twice about using this! :]
RE: Wireless power
So, when your PDA needs recharging, just microwave it for about 2 minutes and it's done !
RE: Wireless power
RE: Wireless power
RE: abhinay
Is it the infrared?
Maybe some bright Physics Spark can do the basic calcs... an interesting proposition. Perhaps Blue tooth could be used like wise, recharge in your pocket!
RE: Is it the infrared?
McDonalds already does that with your fries.
RE: Is it the infrared?
Speak for yourself--I haven't set foot in a McDonalds for years!
RE: Is it the infrared?
LOL!!
toothbrush
RE: toothbrush
---
russ@russb.fsnet.co.uk
Cardiac Pacemakers?
RE: Cardiac Pacemakers?
Nothing New
It is nice to see this technology marketed toward consumer. But please, it is far from revolutionary. If they are smart, a digital ID will be placed in the magnetic fields. This is a higher power version of technolog than many brands of "contactless pass cards" used to gain access to corporate buildings all over Silicon Valley.
You place the unit next to a base, the base has an magnetic field around it, the field powers a small microcontroller inside the card via induced eddy currents, the card sends out a digital signal (usually a 32 bit word for ID), that ID is compaired to a network's database to see if there is access for the proper time and place and opens the door if valid.
Here the difference is that unit is constantly next to the base, thus giving more time to recharge. If you can get the bandwidth up on the digital signal here, doing a HotSync this way could be cool.
RE: Nothing New
Ever heard of those watches that recharge their battery when you move your arm from walking?
This would be a truly useful mechanism for PDA's! a totally self sufficient device that need NOTHING..
RE: Nothing New
RE: Nothing New
RE: Nothing New
My Panasonic electric razor has been doing this inductive recharging trick for well over a year now. The reason for its application on my humble beard-buster is obvious...electricity and water do not mix well. Who needs an open plug-in when this razor is sold to gentlemen who prefer shaving in the shower (including Your Truly). I do not think this "innovation", and I stutter as I say that word, is just an application of this "technology" (again, I stammer). Nor do I think they are taking the guts from my superb Seiko Kinetic (absolutely the finest time-pieces made at any price) and shoving them in a PDA. The power generated is incredibly small.
I do not know what this may be, but if I hear the term "micro-wave" any where in the press release, I'm moving back to me humble village on Eire. Yikes! Look out Mr. Pacemaker-User-Mate who posted above.
Cheers.
-J. in Florida
I read about this April 1st
Read about it here: ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc3251.txt
Why not try the solar cell
Solar cells are very thin and used widely in calculator.
RE: Why not try the solar cell
at this time.
Maybe in a few years.
ted
Follow through with this people...
Everyone could have one of these in their car to charge a battery while they drive. They would be standard equipment by the auto manufacturer's so there is no need to buy and use a 12 volt charger or multiple chargers. Every hotel room would have one so there would be no need to buy a travel charger. You would have one at your desk at home and at work. All your devices would stay charged all the time.
Sounds pretty good to me if it became a standard.
RE: Follow through with this people...
But otherwise I think these people are about to license Teslas induction charging work out to companies. Maybe even try to copyright it.
I bet I know how it works
RE: I bet I know how it works
A bumper cars other connection is the metal flooring (ground). That's why the ceiling is so high - so somebody doesn't reach up and BZZZZTTT!!!!
Isn't it related to radio?
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Hope there's more to this