Disney Research has constructed a prototype living room with `ubiquitous wireless power delivery,` allowing users to move around while their technology charges without any cables, wires, or charging pads (via Ars Technica). Disney`s technology mirrors some early rumors for the 2017 iPhone 8, which suggested Apple was building a long-range wireless charging solution instead of the Apple Watch-style inductive charging solution of more recent reports.
The room`s walls, ceiling, and floor were built with aluminum panels, and a large copper pipe was placed in its center. The middle of the pipe was cut out and in the gap the researchers placed fifteen capacitors, `and it`s those capacitors that set the electromagnetic frequency of the structure, and can find the electric fields.`
To generate the power that is relayed into the room, a signal generator sits just outside the prototype living room and outputs a 1.32MHz signal to the capacitors in the pole, producing what the researchers call `quasistatic cavity resonance.`
`In this work we`re demonstrating room-scale wireless power, but there`s no reason we couldn`t shrink this down to the size of a toy box or a charging chest, or scale up to a warehouse or a large building.` Given that it`s still a very early prototype, there`s a few caveats to Disney`s wireless charger, including the limit on the power that can be pumped into the room before it reaches dangerous levels for humans. The specific absorption rate, a measure of how much energy can be absorbed by the human body, is capped at 1900 watts. The copper pole at the room`s center requires the nearest person to have at least 46 centimeters of clearance before they`re put in danger. Besides these restrictions, Disney says it`s `completely safe` for anyone to occupy the room for any period of time.
In order for the devices to receive the charging signal, Disney had to design a receiver that allowed the researchers to `power many devices sim ...
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