Wireless technologies in a variety of forms have seen tremendous growth in recent years. Answering the need for on-the-go computing and customers' struggle with cable clutter, many service providers and peripheral manufacturers have turned to wireless standards to satisfy their consumer base. And yet electronic devices must be powered somehow, making the use of power cables a necessary but sometimes unsightly part of our computer and home entertainment setups.
Even though we've seen some notable progress in this area through inductive charging on devices like the Dell Latitude Z or the Touchstone charger for the Palm Pre, this technology still requires physical contact. Luckily for those keen on the idea of a truly wireless world, Sony has announced the development of a new energy transfer system which it claims will eventually eliminate the use of power cables once and for all.
In its tests the company succeeded in sending a conventional 100 volt electricity supply over a distance of 50 centimeters to power a 22-inch LCD television. The system achieves this feat through high-frequency magnetic resonance, which produces a magnetic field by feeding power into a 40cm-wide square coil of wires.
Of course being an early prototype there are a few drawbacks, including the distance over which it works and the system's 60 percent efficiency, which means a significant portion of the power fed into it is wasted. The company shared no details on how safe the technology is – an obvious concern – nor did it offer an estimate on when it will be ready for real world availability.