What if the credit card in your wallet could someday power your heart? Researchers at Stanford have created an electronic device smaller than a grain of rice, which can be charged remotely by a device roughly the size of a credit card. The goal is to use it as an implant for humans, with it having been tested as a pacemaker for a rabbit already.
One aspect of wearable technology that has been a central concern is battery life -- finding the comfortable mixture of size and longevity, and deciding on the ideal way to charge a device. In the future, that issue could be laid to rest with the use of flexible patches that charge batteries using body heat.
Toshiba has just unveiled a new integrated circuit or IC that will hopefully help make wireless charging a more viable technology. Aside from being compatible with past and future devices and accessories, the TC7763WBG wireless power receiver IC enables such devices to charge as quickly as wired methods.
The wireless charging wars continue. Today Microsoft has let it be known that they’re officially tossing their hat in with the Wireless Power Consortium for the standard wireless abilities quite a few Windows Phone devices already have. Given the idea that Nokia really will end up having their handset business owned by Microsoft in full in the near future, it makes a lot of sense that Microsoft would support the wireless standard they’d already have in place.
There’s a fellow by the name of Markku at Nokia’s Sensors and Energy department - the Principal Researcher of that department. He’s working on a project that’s going to allow users to dance to charge up their smartphone. While it’s relatively far off from a final product, the team has taken to the streets to show the concept off.
As mobile devices get more powerful and wearables start getting traction, the bottleneck of delivering a great user experience lies not on the processor anymore but on batteries. While other companies are sweating over the next battery revolution, Apple is reported to be taking a more muted approach and focusing on improving charging methods instead.
Electric cars are gaining traction among consumers, but the issue of charging while on the go is still one that needs addressed on a larger level. Hevo Power has taken to the topic, looking to add a charging option for EV drivers in New York in the form of circular manhole-disguised units. If all goes as planned, they will be available next year.
This week it's been announced that the high-powered Formula racing circuit known as the FIA Formula E Championship will be working with Qualcomm as their official charging technology provider. This racing series is one made unique by featuring only Formula cars powered exclusively by electric energy. Qualcomm's part in this will be providing their own Halo Electric Vehicle Charging technology to the pits for all vehicles in the circuit to utilize.
If you've ever wondered if plugging your smartphone in to one power outlet was charging it up to full power faster than another, there's a tiny device made by a fellow named David Toledo that'll get you thinking. What you're seeing here is a sort of half-way point between a USB port and your USB-based power cord. What the Practical Meter will do is show you a number of lights depending on how fast your device is powering up. With this information, you'll be able to find the most optimized power source and charge your device up as fast as possible.
Electric vehicles are pretty great since you don't need to hit the gas station and drop $50-$60 on a tank of gas every week (depending on how much you drive, of course), but charging times for electric vehicles are the trade-off to not paying for gas. For some EVs, it take all night to completely charge a dead car battery, but Tesla is aiming for much faster times than that.
It's been awhile since we last heard about Griffin's PowerDock 5 charging station -- back in January at CES, in fact. However, the company finally launched the new product today and is touting it as a central place to charge all of your mobile devices, including tablets, complete with five charging bays with their own USB port.
You might think the only way malware could ever get onto your phone is if you installed an app or some piece of software that was infested with malicious code, but it turns out that modified wall chargers can be used to hack phones as well. Researchers say they've built a custom iPhone wall charger that can install malware when connected to a device.