Everyone agrees: charging sucks. Wires, docks, plates, mats, connectors - whats the point? You have to leave your phone disconnected from you to let the juice fill up. Lots have people are working on "wireless” charging, but haven’t really found a viable option. Who knew, the answer lies in the WiFi router you might be using right now to read this post.
The maker of “power over WiFi” is a research team from the University of Washington. The team promises that the system, consisting of a router and a sensor, will charge multiple batteries up to 28 feet away. That is an amazing feat considering we haven’t even gotten millimetres away form the charging cables (wireless charging pads are not the solution)
As mentioned above, the system has two components: the router/access point that is literally any WiFi router, and a sensor. Simply speaking, it is charging over radio waves. Almost all routers currently used are capable of this system simply by a firmware update; a few tweaks in the router software will supercharge the router to broadcast power over RF. The other component is the sensor: its goal, as explained by Vamsi Talla,"is to harvest RF power and convert it into DC power."
The task isn’t as simple as what it seems though. What about the quality of WiFi? If power is transferred over the network, it’ll hamper the quality of the network itself. The team is working on a balanced solution - to get enough power AND provide strong WiFi. To do that, they are using multiple frequency channels. When the sensor connects to the WiFi, it’ll connect to various channels, some to harvest electricity, others to transfer data.
Finally, will this technology be legally allowed? NO, not yet. FCC allows only up to one watt of power over WiFi, and until rules change, this technology ain’t going anywhere. There are no major side effects on health found, as of current knowledge.
I’m waiting, of course. It will be the game changer. Imagine - phones no longer need to carry huge batteries because they’ll start charging as soon as they connect to WiFi. The cable problem will almost entirely be solved. A true wireless experience will prevail - with the WiFi router the hub.
(Credits: Wired, for introducing me to this awesome stuff.)
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