uBeam publicly unveils its ultrasonic wave-based wireless charging

You might have heard of uBeam, the Silicon Valley startup that has developed a novel way of wireless charging based on ultrasonic wave technology, but you almost certainly haven't seen or heard about the product in action. That's because uBeam has been somewhat secretive about its tech, not revealing any specific details or public demonstrations. That changed late last week with a low-key unveiling at Los Angeles' Upfront Summit.

The demonstration involved Meredith Perry, uBeam's CEO, taking an Android phone inside a large, bulky case, and holding it in front of the charging unit, a large white box, emitting ultrasonic waves. The phone then lit up with a battery charging indicator.

Wireless charging of a phone thru the air. Woh. 👏 1st public demo ever @ubeam #UpfrontSummit pic.twitter.com/I6GZx7KDri

— Spencer Rascoff (@spencerrascoff) February 3, 2017

The demonstration was a bit odd, being described as "off the record," with no official video given to the media. But uBeam also showed the tech off in front of an audience with smartphones in their pockets, meaning it wasn't long before the footage appeared on social media.

Perry mentioned that the final design of the phone case will be much smaller and sleeker, while the company hopes the charger will eventually take the form of a small satellite dish-shaped device. Unfortunately uBeam's tech still in the concept phase and far from a commercial release. It also has a long way to go to address doubts about how it will work consistently, not to mention within the laws of physics.

SOURCE Axios