June 10, 2007

WiTricity could make cables obsolete

by Brian Turner

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A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a new technology that could soon make power cables and plugs redundant. The technology has been under development for a while, but a working example of the system has now been revealed.

The WiTricity technology uses magnetic fields to deliver power to gadgets without the need for wires. The system can already power a lightbulb over a distance of 2m and within three to five years its inventors expect it to be able to charge electronic devices such as mobile phones and laptops.

WiTricity delivers power to a gadget using magnetic induction. It manages this energy exchange efficiently by synchronising the charger and gadget, meaning that power is not ‘leaked’ to other objects.

The WiTricity charger connects with the device to be charged using magnetic fields at coupled resonant frequencies.

In comparison, other wireless technologies such as wi-fi spread radiation in all directions. This means that large amounts of energy are wasted into free space.

WiTricity uses two copper coils - one is attached to the power source and produces the magnetic field, the other is attached to the gadget and picks up the magnetic field.

The coils currently have a radius of around 10 inches, but smaller designs will be developed. Eventually, a device could be fitted with a card to receive the signal and start charging.

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