Wireless Electricity is Coming in 2013 - Says Intel

We've grown accustomed to having to plug in our smartphones and other mobile devices whenever they require charging... but truth be told - it's a real pain. Particularly when you have to move away from our carefully planned places where we have the appropriate cables and adapters for each and every device we own. And although microUSB has tried to become a charging standard (and succeeded, to certain extent) there are still devices that require adapters or their own proprietary plugs.

Intel now taunts us, saying that - finally - wireless charging will become a reality in 2013. And let's hope that means a wireless charging becoming a real standard, rather than those odd wireless chargers some brands have been offering as "options". (Who can imagine a future where each device will require each own, specific, wireless charger... that would be really insane!)

So... in 2013, we might begin to charge our smartphones simply by placing them next to a laptop, or other wirells charger device, and I hope that also means larger area charging mats that we can place on (or even under) our desks and tables, so everything can be kept charged just by placing the devices there.

How Much does an iPad cost in Electricity per Year?

Ever wondered just how much an iPad can cost you in electricity per year? If you're worried about it you might like to know that according top a new study carried by Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) the  iPad costs just $1.36 in electricity per year, based on a full recharge every other day.

From a quick survey with my friends with iPads, they say they charge it a lot less (just 2 or 3 times per week) meaning that cost would be even lower.

Considering that most people will have their computers and laptops turned off while using the iPad - and that regular computers are a lot more power hungry than the iPad (or similar Android tablets), it seems that using a tablet is a win/win scenario: both in comfort and in power efficiency.

A computer would cost you at least ten times more (and we're not even considering leaving a computer always on, or regularly using a PC for power hungry tasks, like 3D gaming - where you can have a computer use up 300Watts or more.)

Elastic Electric Cables

Just as certain as we still have to rely on cables to power up (or recharge) our devices - at least until wireless energy transmission becomes mainstream - there are lots other things one just assumes to be as it is: electric cables, for power and/or data, can be  more or less rigid... but one thing that's for sure is that they don't stretch!... Or can they?

We're not talking about that coiled headphone or phone cables that can "stretch"; we're talking about really stretchable electric cables.

It's no secret how these elastic power cables can be used in... well... mostly everywhere! Its developers created it with a stretch factor of 1.5, similar to the human skin, making it ideal to be used in "wearable" computing devices, as well as body sensors, and also for robotic applications.

Check the following video... and get ready to see what no other electric cable could do before.

Wireless Electricity Charging by Rohm

No matter how much more wireless our world is becoming, there's still one wire we seem unable to let go: the power cable. Sure there are companies working day in and day out in bringing us wireless chargers, and we can find it even in small affordable items like Philips' Lumiware products, but we're still a far cry from true massive - and equally important - standard and inter operative wireless chargers.

Maybe we're now a step closer thanks to this Rohm wireless table charger.

Unlike other wireless chargers, this one is can achieve 93% efficiency - which although is still a lot less that what you can achieve with a wired connection, makes us believe it will soon become a viable alternative to plugging devices in.

Also important, it is capable of transmitting up to 100W of power - making it possible to charge laptops, and lots other smaller devices placed over it.

... Now it is just a question of "when" such devices will become common in your homes.

Dell Solar Parking Lot

This is how all parking lots should look like:

This new solar parking lot at DELL has 512 solar panels, and provides shelter for 56 cars, and can generate up to 131,000 kWh per year.

Power Generating Backpack

If you spend most of your time outdoors away from an electric power plug, recharging your gadgets becomes... complicated.
And while this might be annoying if your GPS or cellphone dies in the middle of your trekking, it might have far more serious consequences if it happens to a soldier in hostile territory.
That's why this power generating backpack was originally conceived for the military.

This backpack system can generate up to 8W while walking, and an amazing 44W while running. 

GE Smartgrid Augmented Reality

If you want to tell people about renewable energy, why not use an engaging method?

That's exactly what GE has done with its SmartGrid program, using the always cool augmented reality.
Check the video:

Google Powermeter

I already have my electric use all mapeed out, but now it's the allmighty Google that is jumping into the bandwagon and pushing this monitoring forward.

Never were Lord Kelvin's wise words so rightfully invoked:

"If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it." 

I hope Google Powermeter to be the beginning of a new generation of intelligent homes and appliances that will -ultimately- allow a more efficient use of our power grid.


Keep in mind that, with the entire world pushing forward for electric vehicles, you can imagine what would happen if suddenly, millions of electric cards would be plugged in to the grid as millions of commuters arrived home each day.

With this powermeter tools, we may hope to have a bidirectional service, with our power provider automatically taking care of those issues for us, automatically triggering power intensive appliances according to their most efficient schedule-

At least, it will allow me to use their web services to log all my data, instead of relying on my own custom software to do it! :)

Heat Powered LEDs

You've probably seen electronic candles using LEDs; but watching a LED powered by a candle, that's an entire different story.

This system uses waste heat from any source to create electric energy, which - as you might imagine - would be extremely helpful in a world where most of our machines and equipment (from the CPU inside your computer to the engine powering your car) create an insane ammount of wasted heat.

But even stranger, is the heat-to-sound energy transfer shown on the following video.

Wireless Electricity

One of the last barriers keeping us from living a truly wireless life is about to smashed: wireless electricity!

That's right, we'll soon be able to kiss those dreaded power cables goodbye.

And while many companies have promissed that (and failed to deliver) I think this time it may be different, because it's none other than Intel itself saying it!

Intel has shown that it could transmit electricity wirelessly over a dozen inches with 75% efficiency (previous systems were only able to achieve 50% efficiency at best.)

So, it really seems we may have some cablefree gagdgets in the near future afterall.