Disney Research recently showcased a wireless charging system that eliminates the need for a charging pad on which electronics have to be placed in order to be charged. The invention was detailed by Matthew J. Chabalko, Mohsen Shahmohammadi, and Alanson P. Sample in a paper titled “Quasistatic Cavity Resonance for Ubiquitous Wireless Power Transfer.” The paper was published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS) Journal earlier this month and was accompanied by a two-minute YouTube video which you can see below. In essence, Disney Research built a system that utilizes the aforementioned resonance dubbed QSCR to create a magnetic field that can deliver around 1,900 watts of power to any device in the room without endangering people in the process. The latter claim is based on a presumption that people won’t get too close to the copper pole located in the center of the experimental room created by Disney Research.
In addition to the pole, the solution currently requires a room that’s been built specifically with wireless charging in mind. More specifically, the video below depicts a room whose floors and ceilings are equipped with metal reinforcements. Scientists speculate that this requirement could be eliminated in the future if they manage to develop a special type of conductive paint or some kind of modular panels, while the pole itself could be replaced with a much smaller and more mobile beacon that can safely be approached. Being able to approach the beacon is important as the proximity of a device to a beacon directly affects the efficiency of this solution. Scientists said that the efficiency can drop as low as 40 percent if a device is on the very edge of the room, meaning the current solution would likely result in thousands of dollars of extra electricity bills on an annual basis.
Regardless, all innovations have to start somewhere and as an advanced wireless charging solution, the system created by Disney Research does seem to have potential. With that said, this solution is likely years away from being commercialized provided that ever happens and even if it does, the conductive paint and modular panels that the researchers are talking about likely won’t be cheap when they hit the market.
