A new system provides wireless power to electronic and electrical devices using a series of antennas embedded underneath a surface, removing the need for electric cables.
The Smart University Power Antenna (SUPA) Wireless technology uses a principle similar to that of induction cookers, according to researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Nano Systems (ENAS) in Paderborn, Germany. Coils placed below a surface, such as a table, in a network formation each represent a transmitting antenna. When electricity flows through these coils, a magnetic field is generated; this field induces electricity in a coil inside the receiving device.
However, the researchers were not satisfied with a device receiving electricity only at specific points within a surface—they wanted it to work anywhere. Rejecting the solution of installing a giant coil inside a surface as impractical, the researchers instead opted for a different route.
“We populated a printed circuit board (PCB) with numerous antennas in such a way that a magnetic field is generated only under the surface of the receiver. The distances between the antennas and the dimensions of them are carefully chosen to produce a homogeneous field,” Christian Hedayat, Ph.D, department head at Fraunhofer ENAS.
Only those antennas directly beneath the receiver are switched on; the rest remain off. The system recognizes where the device is placed using one of two approaches, Hedayat said. The first one, the “physical approach” is based on the face that the antennas perceive the receiver—the device—as a specific load. The second “numerical” approach is still being explored by the research team, and involves the antennas “asking” the receiver for its identification and whether it is entitled to receive energy and how much.
SUPA Wireless also includes the capability to transmit data for wireless-enabled devices, such as laptops and smartphones, Hedayat added. The system could also be used to power medical implants, which currently requires patients to undergo surgery to implant new batteries.
