Just recently, the article about the 30 second charger on the website, got me thinking about batteries and power for the devices we use today. Undoubtedly the battery has long been ignored. Efforts to make the phone a better accessory seemingly are in full swing but the battery is left aside. The idea is really plausible given, we don’t really make time to recharge the phone. Wireless charging has been a trend off late for the people who do forget to do so. Although still in its infancy, the technology is marketed as the next big thing. The only problem with that is that our phones have to be within inches of the emitter or the phone wouldn’t really charge like it promised and the length of time supported is questionable.

While watching a video on YouTube recently, on the latest tech developments a video from KAIST caught my attention. I believe my phone is charged properly only when it’s tethered to the wall plug or extension with my trusty charger. Chun Rim, professor of Nuclear & Quantum Engineering at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), proved me wrong. Rim and his team have developed a system where the power runs up to 5 metres! He uses induction systems previously developed like the ones in Qi and PMA but the demo does display power that is magnified. Who knew coupling induction coils with the technology KAIST developed called Dipole Coil Resonant System (DCRS) could do this and more. This is an upgrade on MIT’s Coupled Magnetic Resonance System (CMRS), a system developed in 2007 that beamed power up to 2.1 metres. CMRS did have its shares of woes, but that technology is being perfected and is now used for wireless charging in smart phones.

KAIST’s take on wireless power relies on a coil with two magnetic dipoles one to induce a magnetic field and the other to receive the electric power. Redesigned with compact ferrite core rods with conductive windings toward the centre, these are definitely better than the ones used in CMRS. The 3mx10cm demo induction coil is considerably huger, but with time I’m sure we’ll be seeing a smaller version in our smart phones. The amount of power and its efficiency depends on the distance between the coils. DCRS shows the best results at a distance of 3m with 1403 watts and and an efficiency of 37% (36.9% to be exact, but it’s math!). That juice is enough to power at least several PCs and almost 12 LCD TVs. Conversely, the power decreases with the distance in the coils increased, but still gives about 209 watts at a 9.2%, which is still impressive.

Check this video, where Rim demonstrates how effective the DCRS system is. The demo is impressive considering the coil is powering an LCD TV and three 40 watt oscillating fans. They even have a chart that differentiates the results between both the efforts. Promising eh. The idea of a wireless power system at home is so relieving, that no wires means no unnecessary wiring costs and extra savings too.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6UCwqjdpo0&w=560&h=315]

Is this the future of wireless charging technology? I hope so. The future of this technology depends on further developments and does definitely have more uses that just charging your smart phones. Imagine just walking into a Wi-Fi power zone, and charging things automatically. Isn’t that something you’d want to do if you ran out of power on your tablet, phone, or laptop or iPod? Huge screen LCD TVs running in public squares, constantly playing the news or the cricket match or football match to encourage public viewing and save costs, restaurants, schools, government offices and so many others running on shared power.Let’s see if the uses diversify with time.