WiTricity Corp. is developing a wireless charging system called “magnetic resonance wireless power transfer” that could safely transmit electricity to devices over a foot away from the source – even through solid materials, like walls.
In light of the explosive popularity of smartphones, wireless charging systems have generated a lot of buzz recently; numerous companies have debuted systems (like Energous Corp.’s “WattUp”) that boasts “wire-free charging of multiple devices at up to 15 feet” by using a radio signal instead of a physical charger. Both Energous and Texas’ DK Tek presented their systems at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in early January, exemplifying the growing demand for wire-free possibilities – the market value of which could skyrocket into the multi-billion dollar range.
However, the Massachusetts company WiTricity Corp, helmed by MIT scientist Marin Soljačić, is developing an alternate wire-free charging system that depends entirely on magnetic resonance, due to what the company calls “magnetic resonance wireless power transfer.”
Unlike other induction charging systems (like Duracell’s PowerMat, which was recently rolled out in Starbucks stores across the nation), this wireless power transfer system does not depend on proximity; in fact, devices can be charged at long distances, as well as through dense, solid materials, like walls. In fact, because of magnetic resonance, devices can be charged through any medium – counters, office carpets, chairs, factory floors. This has huge implications for electric car charging and factory operations, potentially allowing for multiple objects to be simultaneously charged without any wires at all.
WiTricity VP Kaynam Hedayat compares his company’s magnetic resonance wireless power transfer technology to the famous example of an opera singer breaking a wine glass by singing a single high-pitched note.
“She can do that by generating voice at the same frequency the wine glass resonates at,” Hedayat told The Philadelphia Inquirer. Similarly, in the case of WiTricity’s wireless charging system, a common resonance can be used to transfer power from a particular magnetic field to another. Both the source and target device (phone, car, etc.) are equipped with magnetic resonators that are tuned to resonate at the exact same frequency. This feature – what Hedayat refers to as “the secret sauce” – avoids the potential safety hazards of radio-frequency charging systems, which generate electromagnetic waves to power devices (like in WiFi).
Because of the potential explosiveness of this technology, WiTricity has been forging connections with powerful business partners like Intel, Toyota, and even Thoratec Corp., a company that produces heart monitors. Hedayat predicts, in a conversation with the Philadelphia Inquirer, that the technology will “hit the market by the middle of this year.” WiTricity already has 94 patents already under its belt, as well as 200 patents pending.
According to Hedayat, this is in part due to the relative cheapness of integrating WiTricity technology into devices. “The incremental cost of introducing our technology into a cell phone or mobile handset is going to be in the 10s of pennies, versus 10s of dollars,” Hedayat told BostInno.
Hedayat is excited about the future usefulness of WiTricity’s magnetic resonance technology, as well as its relative ease – potentially, in the future, phones could be charged by being placed anywhere in a room, and electric cars could be charged by simply parking.
“You don’t have to think about it,” Hedayat said.
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For more from Kaynam Hedayat and WiTricity, check out his keynote address ‘Saying Goodbye to Wires, and Hello to a More Efficient Approach to Powering Up’ at EMC Live 2014 here.
