Eric Giler heads WiTricity, a startup with a product straight out of science fiction: wireless electricity, beamed from a base station to your electrical devices. The technology was developed by an MIT team led by theoretical physicist Marin Soljačić (who won a MacArthur "genius"grant last year). Now, WiTricity is one of several startups developing tech to safely transmit power through the air -- and potentially untether our electronic age.
The technology at the core of WiTricity's approach is called magnetic coupled resonance, which can provoke an energetic response at a distance between two coils, one powered, the other not. If the two coils are correctly tuned to one another, energy flows from the connected one (installed, say, on the ceiling of a room) into the other (inside, say, your laptop). Giler presented a demo of it at TEDGlobal 2009 -- and several companies are already planning to add it to their phones, cameras, TVs and other devices.
“A feat of physics so subtle and so profound it could change the world.” — Paul Hochman, Fast Company
Maybe it was because of our 500th TEDTalk, but this weeks comments seemed especially meaningful. From people being amazed at Eric Giler’s WiTricity to people rethinking their life strategy thanks to Dan Pink’s talk on motivation. Here’s just a sampling of the reaction: On Natasha Tsakos’ talk: A multimedia theatrical adventure: This lady is amazing […]
Continue readingEric Giler wants to untangle our wired lives with cable-free electric power. Here, he covers what this sci-fi tech offers, and demos MIT’s breakthrough version, WiTricity — a near-to-market invention that may soon recharge your cell phone, car, pacemaker.(Recorded at TEDGlobal 2009, July 2009 in Oxford, UK. Duration: 10:10) Twitter URL: http://on.ted.com/2V Watch Eric Giler’s […]
Continue reading“Wires suck” was how electrician and innovator Eric Giler validated the motivation behind his startup WiTricity, which he demonstrated today in his talk at TEDGlobal 2009. Naturally, the main response was from people very eager to give it a try: Eric Giler on the fantastic prospect of wirelessly charging our devices! (Would come in handy […]
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