New Battery recharging technology in the future

[Andy Reichert]

A new Start-up, called uBeam, is prototyping a wireless charging system that could potentially recharge model loco batteries merely by directing an ultrasound beam at them.

 

A piezoeletric transducer in the loco or battery will transform the received energy into electricity.  No idea of the cost, but it is intended for consumer items such as iphones, ipads, etc.,  Real products likely 2 years away.

 

No connection with the business of course.

 

Andy

[davetheroad]

Interesting, hopefully they will test to see if it vibrates the internal organs of the cat sitting near it.

 

Meanwhile i am wrestling with the problem of the 3 lipos I have just puffed and why it happened.

[PhilJ W]

 Its an interesting development. The idea of a completely wireless layout has a great deal to commend it as remote control DCC as used on TV sets is already available.

[PhilJ W]

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[Rabs]

Sorry to be the naysayer, but this is just bad physics.  Having spent some considerable time designing and developing ultrasonic transducers myself for a variety of applications I am extremely sceptical of what they claim. 

If you look at the 'demo' here:

http://techxplore.com/news/2014-08-ultrasound-ubeam-functional-prototype.html

it's clear that she is using this type of transducer:

http://uk.farnell.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?st=ultrasonic+transducer&catalogId=15001&categoryId=700000005904&langId=44&storeId=10151

 

These transducers are approximately 1% to 10% efficient in terms of electromechanical efficiency (how well they convert electrical energy into sound and back again), so a total system efficiency is between 0.01% and 1%.  To transmit enough power to do anything useful you'd be massively, massively exceeding any safe level of ultrasound exposure.

 

The meter in that video shows a voltage and voltage is not power.  The total power of that receiving array is probably measured in nanowatts.

 

Unfortunately you can't just take off the shelf parts, put them on veroboard and expect to find a solution that nobody has ever thought about.  Those transducers are used in transmit/receive pairs in, literally, hundreds of millions of products a year.  It's hardly likely nobody ever noticed that they can be used to transmit [minute amounts of] energy.  It's also not as if this wasn't tried back in the 60s when piezoelectric materials first became mainstream.

 

The whole thing smells deeply of scam, but it's probably down to a lack of knowledge of physics.  I won't be holding my breath for someone to launch this.

[jonhall]

Take your trains to starbucks and whilst you steal their paint coffee stirrers, you can charge them up? http://poweruphere.com/where-can-i-recharge/starbucks/

 

Jon

[Andy Reichert]

I found the reference in Scientific American this month. I don't know how much due diligence they did before reporting it.

 

Andy

[fallen]

If you want to go for contactless charging systems there are systems available now that will do this, maybe a bit large for small model uses at present, but they will get smaller.

 

http://uk.farnell.com/freescale-semiconductor/mwct1001avlh/wireless-charging-ic-3-3v-lqfp/dp/2434777

 

This will transfer a few watts at 60% efficiency or so. Ample for battery charging, which is what it was developed for.

 

This is technology available now, I have just preferred to go with a plug and socket as it seemed easier.

 

Frank