Every time I get rid of a wire, it makes me happy. My home has become steadily more unwired over the years. The rat’s nest of cables around my computer has become much more manageable since my mouse, keyboard, headphones, and printer all went wireless. But of course that’s just for the data signal. The printer still plugs into the wall, and the others need batteries. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could dispense with power cables too? We’re already used to wireless charging for electric toothbrushes and phones. How long until we’re scarecely using wires at all, whether for power or signal? It’ll probably be a while, but one item in particular surprised me by how much progress it’s made.
An electric car is the highest power electric device you’re ever likely to own. It draws, let us say, significantly more juice than your Apple watch or your electric toothbrush. And yet the clever folks at Witricity are convinced they have an efficient way to charge your car wirelessly. I’m partial to Witricity for a few reasons. For one thing, they’re based in Watertown, Massachusetts, my hometown. And they’ve taken a wise approach to popularizing their technology. Rather than trying to be the only vendor of new and unproven tech, they’ve worked to establish an automotive industry charging standard (SAE J2954) that anyone can license. It’s a strategy that seems to be working. They recently secured a bunch of new funding (WiTricity Raises $63 Million In New Funding Round (With Video) – CleanTechnica). As the owner of an electric car, I wish them luck! Every time I get rid of a wire, it makes me happy.
I’ll close with this video from Matt Ferrell’s excellent Undecided YouTube channel.
Rambles Blog at Star Chamber 