The era of wireless charging is here, and it’s not that great. Though systems that use an induction plate to charge a smart phone are cool, they’re not all that useful. Sure, they remove the necessity of actually plugging in a USB cable, but they take little of the inconvenience out of constant charging. A Korean tech team may be about to change that.
According to a report via Gizmodo, a research team at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology created a technology that will allow charging at a distance of 15 feet without the use of a cable. The technology could change the way that electricity is carried in any setting where a variety of different devices need power. A living room with no cables may be around the corner, but there are obstacles to be overcome.
Korean tech to kill the charger?
The new technology, which is an iteration of one demonstrated by an MIT lab more than seven years ago, involved something called magnetic resonance. The technology involves the placement of two devices which are, externally at least, ten-foot-long boxes. Anybody with a compatible battery can charge it by standing in between the two devices.
The technology is intriguing, and the team to finally crack its complexities is likely to earn incredible amounts of money, but it is still a long way from practical application. There are, however, demonstrations that show the device at work. Those would be worth seeing, though for the time being they appear to take place in Korea.
Wireless electricity remains a danger
In terms of use, wireless charging and electricity transmission are the dream of anybody who deals with cables on a daily basis. The universalization of USB chargers began a simplifying process that most hope will end in a wireless world. The big step will be cutting the cable between the grid and your smartphone, but there are many challenges to face before that transmission becomes a reality.
There is no such thing as a wireless electricity module that’s anything like cost-effective. There are few companies with the ability, or the inclination to take the technology and turn it into a standard making a future of competing electricity systems a possibility. Last, but certainly not least, the regulatory problems of implementation beggar belief.
Wireless electricity has been a dream since the advent of AC power generation, but the technology is at least a decade from anything like widespread deployment. Too much of the modern world relies on wireless technology. Wireless electricity transmission will have to be prove that it cannot cause interference in any of the EM spectrum used by other companies in order to pass muster. That may be much more than a decade away.
