As Apple explores truly wireless iPhone charging, Disney Research demos cord-free room con...

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware
Disney Research has showcased an automatic, unaided charging platform that would enable purpose-built structures -- such as cabinets, rooms or even entire warehouses -- to generate and deliver power to mobile receivers in close proximity.




The concept showcased by Disney could pave the way for the introduction of contactless wireless charging in smartphones. It also comes as Apple is said to be researching truly wireless power capabilities, potentially for a future iPhone.

Quasistatic Cavity Resonance (QSCR) uses objects found in the average household to generate magnetic fields to safely transport kilowatts of power to devices with an integrated receiver. If the concept materializes, it could recharge mobile devices, and be used to provide direct current to products that need to be plugged in when in use, such as an iMac or TV.

Disney's proof-of-concept utilizes an entire room with metal exterior and a copper pole in the center, allowing the entire space to be filled uniformly with a magnetic field. Using Disney's technology, a user would be able to simply walk into a room, office or other space and their phone would begin charging.



Disney said its tests found that a room could deliver power to small coil receivers in nearly any position in the room, unimpeded by objects like furniture. It was delivered with between 40 and 95 percent efficiency.

Back in December, wire-free charging firm Energous inked a deal to develop and market components through long-time Apple chip supplier Dialog Semiconductor, instantly triggering a slew of reports from analysts claiming that the firm is working with other chip manufacturers to bundle the technology on a next-generation iPhone.

Such technology appears unlikely to appear in an iPhone soon. But in the interim, it's believed that Apple will instead embrace a contact-based wireless charging solution for this year's "iPhone 8" and "iPhone 7s."



In fact, Apple's recent decision to join the Wireless Power Consortium -- the governing body that oversees the Qi charging standard found on many modern devices -- could hint that the next model of the iPhone will feature a similar version of wireless charging to the one found on the Apple Watch. The wearable device requires the unit to be positioned on a magnetic connector that attaches to the heart rate monitor.

Beyond wireless charging capabilities, the "iPhone 8" is rumored to introduce a host of new technology, including an edge-to-edge OLED display, an iris scanner and a Jabil-made stainless steel chassis. It's said that components like the Touch ID sensor, FaceTime camera and earpiece will be hidden beneath the purported 5.2-inch display.

While there's no evidence that Disney Research has worked with Apple on its wireless power concept, the two companies have been close for years, and Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger currently holds a seat on the Apple Board of Directors. Apple cofounder Steve Jobs worked with Iger during Disney's $7.4 billion acquisition of Pixar in 2006, and Jobs aided Disney in a retail redesign in 2009.
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 34
    So... what does all that stuff do to a human being?

    also... anyone else think the copper pole looked a bit... alternative? Lol

    no thanks. I don't want to live in a microwave oven with a stripper pole in the middle. 
    dougdmacseekerdoozydozenMetriacanthosaurusadamcSpamSandwichtallest skilbadmonkbeowulfschmidt
  • Reply 2 of 34
    tundraboytundraboy Posts: 1,884member
    Yup.  Can somebody knowledgeable please talk about how being subjected to all this radiation can affect humans?

    mark fearingmacseekerdoozydozenMetriacanthosaurusSpamSandwichtallest skil
  • Reply 3 of 34
    I'd like to write "I told you", but I won't. Because I didn't. Hard to believe that Disney did this completely on their own account. 
    Anyway, this could solve the battery issue from a different point of angle: don't need better batteries. Just make charging omnipresent. Or, quasi. 

    Cool stuff. Can't wait to have this around as standard. Mice, tablets, wacoms, pens, watches, keyboards - say goodbye to worrying about charge. When this finally works, of course. 
  • Reply 4 of 34
    tundraboy said:
    Yup.  Can somebody knowledgeable please talk about how being subjected to all this radiation can affect humans?

    Yeah, I have tons of question about medical implants and this technology too. Or even just long term effects on the human heart and brain. Cool stuff if it works out though.
  • Reply 5 of 34
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Please let the human race come up with one open way to do this. It's one thing I don't want anyone to own.
    digital_guy
  • Reply 6 of 34
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,624member
    I may be mistaken but I think decades ago, wireless energy distribution was looked at as a means to transport electricity into homes but was ruled out as there was no way to determine how much people were receiving to be able to charge them. They opted for cables and meters.
    airnerd
  • Reply 7 of 34
    tundraboy said:
    Yup.  Can somebody knowledgeable please talk about how being subjected to all this radiation can affect humans?

    I'm fairly certain nobody posting on this forum is going to have any legitimate knowledge to contribute on this topic. plenty of opinions tho. 

    Paging Wozwoz...Paging Wozwoz...
    edited February 2017 mike1watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 34
    Quasistatic Cavity Resonance (QSCR) uses objects found in the average household to generate magnetic fields
    "objects found in the common household" You know, like the stripper pole shown in the photo.  :smiley: 
    pkisselireland
  • Reply 9 of 34
    spice-boyspice-boy Posts: 1,450member
    tundraboy said:
    Yup.  Can somebody knowledgeable please talk about how being subjected to all this radiation can affect humans?

    I fear that corporate profits will Trump human safety, the sellers of tobacco have proven this. 
    digital_guytallest skil
  • Reply 10 of 34
    spice-boy said:
    tundraboy said:
    Yup.  Can somebody knowledgeable please talk about how being subjected to all this radiation can affect humans?

    I fear that corporate profits will Trump human safety, the sellers of tobacco have proven this. 
    What about the massive liability lawsuit judgements in the same and the desire to avoid them? It's not the 1940s anymore, consumer protections are stronger. 
    edited February 2017 watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 34
    And every December, the power transmitter doubles as a Festivus Pole for the "Airing of Grievances."

    (More seriously: interesting research.)
    mike1larz2112
  • Reply 12 of 34
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    So... what does all that stuff do to a human being?

    also... anyone else think the copper pole looked a bit... alternative? Lol

    no thanks. I don't want to live in a microwave oven with a stripper pole in the middle. 
    The article clearly said "proof-of-concept", not "Disney has something they are planning to ship to customers next week." Ugh!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 34
    Can't wait to live in a metal box with a sweet looking cooper pole in the way of everything. Who needs glass windows anyways? So inefficient. They just let out all my floating electricity. 
  • Reply 14 of 34
    mike1 said:
    So... what does all that stuff do to a human being?

    also... anyone else think the copper pole looked a bit... alternative? Lol

    no thanks. I don't want to live in a microwave oven with a stripper pole in the middle. 
    The article clearly said "proof-of-concept", not "Disney has something they are planning to ship to customers next week." Ugh!
    The brown chairs would not work in my house, and I would need a bigger coffee table. I don't think this wireless charging thing is going to work for me.

    Disclaimer: The previous statement was an example of humor and sarcasm.
    edited February 2017
  • Reply 15 of 34
    zimmiezimmie Posts: 651member
    tundraboy said:
    Yup.  Can somebody knowledgeable please talk about how being subjected to all this radiation can affect humans?

    Yeah, I have tons of question about medical implants and this technology too. Or even just long term effects on the human heart and brain. Cool stuff if it works out though.
    Wouldn't be an issue for most people. It's non-ionizing radiation like that from radio towers. It looks like they're inducing a standing RF wave of sorts with the intent of creating magnetic flux within the room. The dangers would be similar to an extremely low-power MRI. People with steel plates or screws might feel a little torque as they move around, but probably not. People with implants offering inductive coupling (programmable ICDs (pacemakers), cochlear implants, &c.) could have problems, as such coils are exactly how this system is designed to deliver power. It reminds me vaguely of a Metcal soldering iron. They use induction to heat a slug of a special alloy with a selected Curie point. When it hits the Curie point, it becomes non-magnetically-interactive, so the induction heater just stops dumping power into the magnetic field. When it cools down, it regains the ability to pull power from the magnetic field, which then heats it back up. In this case, the room stores a certain amount of energy in the standing wave. Once it's 'charged', it should be able to hold that charge for a while with only a little power input. As things in the room pull power from the field, the drive coil replenishes it. The real thing to worry about for most people is eyes. As long as it doesn't couple with our eyes, we'll be fine. If it does, it can result in heat buildup which can rapidly result in blindness.
    digital_guy
  • Reply 16 of 34
    larz2112 said:
    Quasistatic Cavity Resonance (QSCR) uses objects found in the average household to generate magnetic fields
    "objects found in the common household" You know, like the stripper pole shown in the photo.  :smiley: 
    Finally another use case for our stripper pole! Wonder if Disney is going to prototype their new system at the strip clubs that are local to their resorts.
  • Reply 17 of 34
    tundraboy said:
    Yup.  Can somebody knowledgeable please talk about how being subjected to all this radiation can affect humans?

    As an engineer, I can tell you, every day your body is hit with all kinds of Electro-magnetic waves of various frequencies and energy levels. They come from all kinds of sources both natural and product by humans as well as from outside the earth. Base on this what do you think all those sources effects are on humans.

    The problem is this, there is no way to actually test the effects are on humans. First all humans are different so it becomes very hard to isolate if someone had negative effect if it was caused by their own genes or some other source of radio waves. Also the only way to truly test, you would have to isolate the person from all other background sources, you would have to put someone in a faraday cage for their entire life and see if any one source is the sole reason for someone to have some sort of negative effect.

    This is why all the studies which were done on this kind of thing were eventual shown not to be accurate, predictive or casual.

  • Reply 18 of 34
    mike1 said:
    So... what does all that stuff do to a human being?

    also... anyone else think the copper pole looked a bit... alternative? Lol

    no thanks. I don't want to live in a microwave oven with a stripper pole in the middle. 
    The article clearly said "proof-of-concept", not "Disney has something they are planning to ship to customers next week." Ugh!
    This is the thing most people do not understand. There are lots of proof of concepts which never see the light of day of a practical applications due to the fact they can not overcome basic physics like it only works in a completely shield. Not saying this may not turn into a real product with real world applications, but is just a concept at this point and has lots of limitations.

  • Reply 19 of 34
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    spice-boy said:
    tundraboy said:
    Yup.  Can somebody knowledgeable please talk about how being subjected to all this radiation can affect humans?

    I fear that corporate profits will Trump human safety, the sellers of tobacco have proven this. 
    Everyone knows cigs are bad for you. It's written on the packet itself.
  • Reply 20 of 34
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member

    maestro64 said:
    tundraboy said:
    Yup.  Can somebody knowledgeable please talk about how being subjected to all this radiation can affect humans?

    As an engineer, I can tell you, every day your body is hit with all kinds of Electro-magnetic waves of various frequencies and energy levels. They come from all kinds of sources both natural and product by humans as well as from outside the earth. Base on this what do you think all those sources effects are on humans.

    The problem is this, there is no way to actually test the effects are on humans. First all humans are different so it becomes very hard to isolate if someone had negative effect if it was caused by their own genes or some other source of radio waves. Also the only way to truly test, you would have to isolate the person from all other background sources, you would have to put someone in a faraday cage for their entire life and see if any one source is the sole reason for someone to have some sort of negative effect.

    And even at that you've have incorporate into the fold factors such as psychosomatic affects and gene expression—lost in a sea of "we've no idea".
    edited February 2017
Sign In or Register to comment.