Well, this lead was impressive, coming from a tech watcher who if you read his articles regularly know that he does not swoon easily. Andrew Liszewski, Gizmodo. "After covering CES for 10 years, nothing I've seen at the show has me as excited about the future as Ossia's wireless charging technology."
Ossia has worked on something they call the Cota Forever Battery. We need little explanation to turn heads to fuller attention. They have worked on a battery powered wirelessly. The Forever Battery and its associated technology, dubbed Cota, created much interest at CES.
It's all about a battery that may never need replacing.
Editor in Chief of Tom's Guide Mark Spoonauer said that "there is something very compelling about the idea of a Forever Battery and a system that can deliver power at long distances."
The battery would get its power from the Cota Tile. The company defines Cota Tile as a wireless power transmitter disguised as a drop ceiling tile. Transmitter? Spoonauer explained how "This transmitter would sit in your house, perhaps mounted on a wall, and deliver juice over the 2.4-GHz spectrum to a tiny receiver in the battery."
"Radio waves used by Cota (2.4GHz frequency) almost see our world as if it is made of mirrors and glass; everything is either absorbing (like our bodies) or reflecting partially (like dry wall) or reflecting totally (like metal cabinets)," wrote Hatem Zeine on the company site last year.
Ossia's system will consistently charge the battery from anywhere in the house, as long as it's in range of one of the company's Cota Tiles," wrote Alex Lee in Alphr.
More details on how it works were discussed.
Joel Hruska, ExtremeTech: "According to Ossia, Cota works because the Cota Transmitter contains dozens of tiny RF antennas, with similar antennas mounted within the AA battery, charging case, or hypothetical smartphone."
Liszewski said "the transmitter broadcasts a directed and concentrated RF signal towards a given device in a room, which is absorbed by the gadget's own RF antennas inside, and turned into usable power."
Cota is not limited to just a few feet. The Tile can power multiple devices in motion, without a line of sight, at a distance, said the company.
As for batteries, wouldn't we just like to walk away from the whole concept of battery. Alex Lee in Alphr said we cannot just yet. He said, "a lot of gadgetry, and children's toys, still rely on physical batteries. From remote controls and smoke detectors to smart IOT devices like lights, security systems and locks, removable batteries remain unavoidable."
Still, the repercussions of disposable batteries that need replacing go beyond inconvenience.
Alphr: "Every year, in the United Kingdom alone, 600 million disposable batteries are thrown away, with only a third of these being recycled. While the amount of mercury in these alkaline batteries has been reduced, the substances in batteries leak into the soil and groundwater in landfills, releasing pollutants and toxins into the air."
Ossia has other alarming numbers. "Each year, more than 3 billion batteries are thrown away in the United States alone. Although battery makers have reduced the quantity of toxic materials in batteries, battery disposal remains regulated and poses environmental risks."
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MR166
Right and there is nothing toxic about a 2.4 GHZ microwave beam. Think of the billions of dollars wasted putting doors on microwave ovens.
Nik_2213
;-)
FWIW, I remember noticing an oddly dressed woman using a cell-phone while her head was covered in kitchen foil. For a moment, I thought she was wearing an eponymous 'Foil Beanie' to protect her wits against the phone's possible brain-bending effects. No, she was outside a hair-salon, half-way through a 'high-lights' bleach cycle, and salon's noisy dryers had made hearing her phone impossible...
MR166
Yup but to put any meaningful charge into a device you are probably beaming 10 watts or more. For the charger to be useful the beam needs to have some spread so that positioning of the device to be charged is not critical. If one is talking about the 400 milliwatts that a WiFi puts out it would take forever to charge a phone.
This is one stupid invention when all one needs to do is use magnetic coupling and plade the device on a pad when it is not being used. Also microwaves are known to cause cataracts.
wshanks
This idea of using WiFi to Re-charge Batteries is not new...
See...
Search for "RCA Air Power" add "Snake oil" to the search
TheGhostofOtto1923
So why doesn't someone look it up and enlighten the community about it instead of guessing?
It doesn't make you look smarter it makes you look dweebier. And lazier.
MR166
I went to their website and there was not ONE mention of power levels of the transmitter or receiving devices. Why am I not shocked at this purposeful omission? The microwave beam is swept across the room 100x/second. Thus the amount of power reaching the device is proportional to the receiving antenna size/area swept. This is one giant investor robbing hoax.
This is very similar to another hoax a few years back. A company was claiming that it would supply community high speed internet service over the ac power lines. Anybody that knows anything about electronics knows that this would create dangerous interference over the RF spectrum. I know the power companies do communicate with devices over the power lines but this is at a very slow speed.
MR166
MR166
TheGhostofOtto1923
-So then what makes you think that they would even propose a product that would expose people to harmful levels of radiation?
"Microwatt and Megawatt makes no difference to them since the batteries are still being charged."
-And yet the agencies who approve these things, and the insurance companies who allow mfrs to sell them, are full of experts with full knowledge of harmful radiation levels.
Like this one
https://ulstandards.ul.com
-These people wouldn't be allowed to put their product on the market until they got UL approval. And this would only be after UL experts thoroughly tested these units and issued requirements.
There are many of them public and private, including FCC, CFR, OSHA and FM.
TheGhostofOtto1923
"That's why we have released the first global wireless power technology standard: Ossia's Cota Standard 1.0. And it's available now.
"It's an exciting time. With the Cota Standard 1.0, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) around the world can speak the same language when developing Cota Real Wireless Power products.
"Cota is real wireless power. No cables. No charging mats. No line-of-sight requirements. Cota is inherently safe and does not interfere with other wireless technologies."
-so that everybody in the industry knows what their units do.
So what could possibly make you think this could be a sham?
TheGhostofOtto1923
"today at CES Unveiled. The judges named Ossia's Forever Battery a CES 2018 Innovation Award Honoree in the Smart Home product category. Ossia's technology has now earned CES Innovation Awards for three consecutive years."
-And do you really think CES judges juust walk up and say 'Hey that's pretty. Here's your award.'
"The CES Innovation Awards have been recognizing achievements in product design and engineering since 1976. Entries are evaluated on their engineering, aesthetic and design qualities, function, user value, and novel features. The judges consider how the design and innovation of each entry directly compares to other products in the marketplace."
MR166
MR166
MR166
MR166
MR166
If you want to save the world buy rechargeable Nicads.
freeiam
MR166
TheGhostofOtto1923
Are you really that naive???
"It is NOT going to make the standard AA or AAA cell obsolete"
-How would you know? You're the kind of guy who draws conclusions about the design of a product from PR releases and website brochures.
What makes you think that rank amateurs like yourself should be privy to more detailed info??
Bongstar420
MR166
Oh that is rich!!! They are trying to promote a product and you say that the public has no right to know it's specifications.
MR166
MR166
TheGhostofOtto1923
-Uh because you're not an engr and so have no idea how these things get funded, designed, manufactured, approved, and marketed?
You've just spent a number of posts convincing me you're a lamebrain. For instance you think a primer on wireless power is going to include design specs for their specific product.
Design document submissions to governing bodies are usually 100s of pages long.
TheGhostofOtto1923
https://www.googl...S8159364
There are at least 9 patents granted for this tech. You should read them all. Note that actual design docs aren't included.
Also while you're at it you should find out what prior approvals from various agencies like OSHA and UL are required to get a patent.
Why here's one here
"Ossia's Remote Wireless Charging Technology Passes Key FCC Tests
3rd party Lab Testing Reveals that Cota Technology Maintains FCC and Global Exposure Requirements for Safety and Interference While Delivering Remote Wireless Power"
-You think the FCC experts who examined and tested and APPROVED this design understood "how they can focus the needed power into a MW beam and not produce health and safety risks" -?
MR166
I am sure that they did limit the amount of transmitting power. That is precisely why I am questioning the amount of power that can be used to recharge each battery. Shut me up and find a link that verifies how much power/ minute the system is capable of transferring.
TheGhostofOtto1923
Look, I'm a little tired of you expecting myself and others to do your work for you.
We won't be interacting again except to emphasize what an asshole you are when the opportunity arises.
And I'm sure that will be often.
MR166
Yet the literature claims that the system detects if a person is in the way and does not transmit the power. So I ask you how can a device be "in motion" if there is no person holding it. They can't even keep their own B.S. straight.
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