Wireless power can be delivered via different mechanisms and one means to do so is via ultrasound. With this approach, one device can emit ultrasound and second device is then able to capture the frequency and generate voltage through the use of a crystal. This type of technology is not electromagnetic based, unlike other forms of wireless power in development.
The development of this form of wireless power comes from the startup company uBeam (based in Marina Del Rey, U.S.). The company will unveil an ultrasonic wireless power system at CES 2019 in Las Vegas (between January 8 to 11, 2019).
uBeam’s technology transmits ultrasound using a single frequency between 45 kHz – 75 kHz, with a sound intensity of 145 dB to 155 dB SPL, and that it would use a phased array technique to direct the beam.
The demonstration will present a new contact-free power-at-a-distance ultrasonic wireless power system. Such ultrasonic wireless charging technology is designed to help to address the current system-level tradeoffs between product performance and battery longevity, according to Smart2Zero.
Potential uses for this type of technology include consumer products, like portable electronics and smart home devices; as well as larger industrial applications, such as Internet of Things sensors together with digital asset trackers. For industry, the unavailability of suitable power supply at desired locations is currently a major obstacle in the development of distributed, wireless sensor networks.
For each of these applications, ultrasonic wireless provides a power-at-a-distance solution. The technology has the advantage of decreasing battery-related maintenance issues and removing the problem of power constraints for next-generation designs. Longer-term the technology has the potential to create an energy infrastructure of the future.
uBeam was founded in 2011 by Meredith Perry while she was a student at the University of Pennsylvania for the school’s invention competition. uBeam will be located at the Venetian Hotel, Suite 29-326 during the CES event.
CES in 2019 is going to be big: 2.75 million net square feet of exhibit space; eleven venues; 24 product categories, and there are 180,000 expected visitors.
