Powerbeam steps closer to launching wireless electricity

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13 points·ojbyrne··5 comments

Maybe I'm missing something, but I sure as hell don't want a 1.5 watt laser beam shining across my room to power my digital photo frame...

This was my first reaction.

My second reaction was to wonder why the place for improvement isn't coming in the form of easier access to direct power sources. I want power surfaces that let me place my cell phone down to recharge it.

I read a little more about their technology, and they are indeed using up to 5 watt infrared lasers. The "safety" of the product is in a mechanism that immediately shuts off the laser as soon as the beam is broken.

I have a hard time believing the FDA will approve such a device for consumers.

No offense to the folks working on this, but this article makes it sound really dumb. Shine a 1.5 watt laser across the room at a receiver to charge your cell phone? Really? What's the advantage? Is the market for this thing solely folks who like to keep their cell phone sitting on the side of the room that doesn't have any outlets? ;-)

The competitors like Powercast and Powermat sound a lot more interesting. Can someone please provide me with the imagination that I'm clearly missing?

I hope they can use this technology to make lightsabers, I would want the lightsaber over wireless electricity.

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