Multi device wireless charging at a distance
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It sounds too good to be true to me, but that could be down to the dodgy reporting
The Pi Charger uses resonant induction, the same technique that Qi chargers (the industry standard) use, but can reach greater distances thanks to an algorithm.
Ooh, it's got an algorithm!
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@jaloopa said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
Ooh, it's got an algorithm!
That must justify the target price
and is planning for it to be “well under $200”
I paid my Qi charger about $30
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@timebandit yeah but I bet that doesn't have an algorithm
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@jaloopa If only I had known it was that simple. I've got a Qi charger and an algorithm, but never thought of putting them together.
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@hungrier add an Internet connection and we have a product we can market !!!
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@timebandit said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
@jaloopa said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
Ooh, it's got an algorithm!
That must justify the target price
and is planning for it to be “well under $200”
I paid my Qi charger about $30
To be fair, if it works, this would probably be worth about that much.
I guess it all depends on if their algorithm makes electricity work better.
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If I'd put a microwave meal next to that Pi thing, can I then eat it after a few minutes?
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@alexmedia Yes, if you like to eat cold
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@alexmedia That depends. Does your food have an algorithm?
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Hmm, won't be buying it unless it uses machine learning
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@bb36e said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
Hmm, won't be buying it unless it uses machine learning
What do you think their algorithm is?
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Really though, this is just an incremental step leading to wireless charging in the cloud
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@hungrier said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
wireless charging in the cloud
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@adynathos
Your battery is now fully charged. You want me to dial 911 ?
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@sloosecannon said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
To be fair, if it works, this would probably be worth about that much.
I guess it all depends on if their algorithm makes electricity work better.There are very well-established models of physics that determine exactly how much power a device can output without hurting humans nearby.
It's not enough to charge a cellphone over a distance of > 12".
Maybe if they had some kind of "directed" power scheme that also cut-off when people and animals passed in front of it? I guess it's not outside the realm of possibility. But they'll need the FCC to approve the thing.
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@adynathos That's the idea, but I think they don't have the right algorithm for it yet.
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@timebandit said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
Your
batterytree is now fully charged.
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@blakeyrat said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
Maybe if they had some kind of "directed" power scheme that also cut-off when people and animals passed in front of it?
Yea, that's probably what they're doing. With that design, they could probably put high-gain antennas on the top and get a nice cone of high energy. Of course, you'll get cancer if you put your hand in there. But, meh, downsides of life, right?
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@sloosecannon said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
they could probably put high-gain antennas on the top and get a nice cone of high energy
Or, even better, guide the EM wave through a specifically designed corridor filled with highly conductive metal for maximum transfer efficiency. That would be a revolution.
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@adynathos said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
@sloosecannon said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
they could probably put high-gain antennas on the top and get a nice cone of high energy
Or, even better, guide the EM wave through a specifically designed corridor filled with highly conductive metal for maximum transfer efficiency. That would be a revolution.
They could call it... a pipe.
No, that's too confusing. You'll need a new word. Maybe... uh... strand? Rope? something like that...
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@sloosecannon said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
something like that...
I know, just use the first part of wireless : wire !
That sounds perfect
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@timebandit said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
@sloosecannon said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
something like that...
I know, just use the first part of wireless : wire !
That sounds perfect
Oh, yeah! I like the sound of that!
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@timebandit said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
I know, just use the first part of wireless : wire !
Maybe wirefull?
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@sloosecannon No way they'll get that approved by UL and FCC.
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@blakeyrat said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
@sloosecannon No way they'll get that approved by UL and FCC.
Who needs approval? This. Is. Startups!
Yeah, pretty much. The RFI that thing would generate would be insane too
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@timebandit said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
@adynathos
Your battery is now fully charged.Luckily you're on an iphone. Samsung would be overcharged (and look like the tree!)
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@blakeyrat Well, we have fast robotic arms, 3D cameras, and some impressive image recognition algorithms.
So having a little thing in the ceiling that continuously pointed a highly directed beam of microwaves at your smartphone doesn't seem far fetched at all.
If direct, unobstructed visual contact is lost, it could cut the beam instantly. And it doesn't even have to deliver a lot of power to be useful, just enough to slowly charge it over several hours.
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@sloosecannon said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
@bb36e said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
Hmm, won't be buying it unless it uses machine learning
What do you think their algorithm is?
Lots and lots of if statements?
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@sloosecannon said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
What do you think their algorithm is?
- Rehash old idea
- Add pretty case
- Kickstarter
- Profit!!!!!
- optional: produce something that works
On a tad more serious note, the article mentions something about a beam-forming "algorithm", so it'll (probably) be able to direct the energy a bit.
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@timebandit said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
@hungrier add an Internet connection and we have a product we can market !!!
Even better, make it require an internet connection!
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WiTricity anyone?
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@anonymous234 said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
Well, we have fast robotic arms, 3D cameras, and some impressive image recognition algorithms.
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@jaloopa said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
algorithm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pViH-8VbW2s
Would you kindly fetch the machine that goes *bing*
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I designed an inductive charger about 10 years ago for a hermetically-sealed medical device, it was self-tuning for the resonant frequency (drive side only). No microprocessor involved, I guess if you decide to use a micro instead of just doing it in hardware you can then claim 'algorithms!' in your marketing bumpf.
You can't make near-field coupling magically better by throwing a processor at it. I'm
a bitvery skeptical that they can get decent efficiency with the devices that far apart. I only ever managed to get about 60% total efficiency with the things closer than 1/4 wavelength together.I'd want to see a demo with power meters before believing they can get sensible efficiency. If you're happy with sending most of your energy to infinity you can claim wireless charging at huge distances :)
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@tsaukpaetra said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
WiTricity anyone?
Just a minor upgrade to PoE: from 802.3 to 802.11
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The beam-forming algorithm allows the Pi charger to identify where a device is, and emit a magnetic field to it. When speaking to TechCrunch, Pi co-founder John Macdonald, said this kind of algorithm has in the past required vast processing power, but his fellow co-founder Lixin Shi “came up with these matrices that could prove that you could get to an optimal solution in just two clock cycles on a simple microcontroller.”
Matrices. In two clock cycles. Uh-huh.
Maybe he thinks a clock cycle is a pendulum swing in his hipster faux-vintage grandfather clock.Edith says: oh, right, "could prove you could get". So I guess that's a plastic design prototype and the electronics is till in the mathematical-proof stage.
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@cursorkeys said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
I'd want to see a demo with power meters before believing they can get sensible efficiency. If you're happy with sending most of your energy to infinity you can claim wireless charging at huge distances
They are not the only ones trying to push this snake oil in search of VC money. The results are just as shit as you would expect.
More Wireless Phone Charging BULLSHIT! - AirVolt – 10:31
— EEVblog2EEVblog #1001 - uBeam Ultrasonic Wireless Charging DEBUNKED! – 15:25
— EEVblog
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@laoc said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
So I guess that's a plastic design prototype and the electronics is till in the mathematical-proof stage.
Guaranteed.
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@laoc Now, if PoE over 802.11 also could be extended with a technology that allows me to administer electrical shocks to anyone within the coverage area I could get behind this...
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@laoc said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
Matrices. In two clock cycles. Uh-huh.
Maybe they licensed TPUs from NVIDIA?
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@atazhaia said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
@laoc Now, if PoE over 802.11 also could be extended with a technology that allows me to administer electrical shocks to anyone within the coverage area I could get behind this...
As 802.11b is in the same 13cm ISM band as microwave ovens you may not get electroshocks but similarly pleasant (and longer-lasting) effects.
@cvi said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
Matrices. In two clock cycles. Uh-huh.
Maybe they licensed TPUs from NVIDIA?
Simple microcontroller™ :D
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@sloosecannon said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
What do you think their algorithm is?
I bet one of the variables is "suckers".
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@cvi said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
- Rehash old idea
- Add pretty case
- Kickstarter
- Profit!!!!!
- optional: produce something that works
Because of #3, #5 negates #4, hence will not be completed.
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@heterodox said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
"suckers"
so they make the phone suck in the energy? fancy!
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@sloosecannon said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
@blakeyrat said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
Maybe if they had some kind of "directed" power scheme that also cut-off when people and animals passed in front of it?
Yea, that's probably what they're doing. With that design, they could probably put high-gain antennas on the top and get a nice cone of high energy. Of course, you'll get cancer if you put your hand in there. But, meh, downsides of life, right?
Sorry, but no cancer from this. A fried * ) hand, maybe, but not cancer. This is non-ionizing radiation.
EM radiation has two dials: Amplitude and frequency.
And the amplitude largely only determines whether you've overcome dampening effects and after that, how fast a reaction occurs. It's the frequency which determines if something can and what will happen.
* ) Fried, as in: Put your hand into boiling water or oil.
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@rhywden said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
@sloosecannon said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
@blakeyrat said in Multi device wireless charging at a distance:
Maybe if they had some kind of "directed" power scheme that also cut-off when people and animals passed in front of it?
Yea, that's probably what they're doing. With that design, they could probably put high-gain antennas on the top and get a nice cone of high energy. Of course, you'll get cancer if you put your hand in there. But, meh, downsides of life, right?
Sorry, but no cancer from this. A fried * ) hand, maybe, but not cancer. This is non-ionizing radiation.
EM radiation has two dials: Amplitude and frequency.
And the amplitude largely only determines whether you've overcome dampening effects and after that, how fast a reaction occurs. It's the frequency which determines if something can and what will happen.
* ) Fried, as in: Put your hand into boiling water or oil.
Facts
jokescomments
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@sloosecannon Sorry, but I just had to explain again to someone else that WiFi
does notcannot give you cancer, nordoescan a mobile phone. Triggered, I guess.