Friday, July 27, 2012

Innovative Idea from a Budding Futurist: Wireless Electricity

It is inconvenient to have to worry about battery life for our portable and mobile devices such as laptops, tablets, cameras, and phones. When traveling, we must bring an array of power cords for wall sockets and car chargers. It is possible, in the next 15-20 years, to have Wireless Electricity Service Providers (WESP) that we can subscribe to for our various devices. Much like wireless broadband access, WESP can give us wireless and persistent access to electricity to low wattage devices.

The two major forces standing in the way of this innovation are technological and economical. Wireless electricity technology (also called witricity) currently exists in limited hardware applications. The Palm Pre Touchstone (an HP product), for example, has a wireless charging dock. The vision of WESP negates the need for docks or other tactile components. The second force that must be overcome for WESP to be realized is economical. This force has two significant aspects: R&D and personal. The R&D economical aspect refers to the need for R&D funding. The personal economical aspect refers to the expense of new WESP-enabled devices and monthly subscriber fees. Like most new technologies, the initial cost to consumers is likely to be higher than most mainstream consumers (i.e. not early adopters) will want to expend.