Wireless power from speed passion ?

[B-Master]

i have just come across this artical (below) i am a bit confused as to what they are offering .. whats your take (views) on this

Speed Passion have announced details of a future product line, which they say looks set to revolutionize both gas and electric R/C racing. Their rather criptic release states:

We are proud to bring the Power of freedom, “The wireless power”. “Reduction” is one of the ways to help to protect the Earth. Imagine playing with an R/C car, boat, or soft air gun without chargers, power supplies, and extra battery packs. No more worries about battery pack quality, and chasing constant small advances in battery capability and size. Saving you time and money and developing new ideas to improve your skills in order to enjoy the pure fun of R/C.

What product they are announcing I dont know, but the picture above shows version 1.2 of the Wireless Power prototype, which looks like a speed controller with battery inputs that has a built 2.4Ghz system, judging by the aerial. Speed Passion will release more details every month in the lead up to its 2009 release date.

as i said looks very cryptic but intresting

[Northy]

Is it April 1st?

G

[J_WOODY]

thats not an aerial..... thats for winding it up

[bondy]

Originally Posted by Northy

Is it April 1st?



G

Ditto !

[ashleyb4]

Originally Posted by J_WOODY

thats not an aerial..... thats for winding it up

Your winding us up

A

[antnee]

Looks more like a servo horn than a 2.4ghz aerial!

[DCM]

it does look more like a handle than an aeriel, it is wireless power not a radio.

[ashleyb4]

Wireless energy transffer

Wireless energy transfer or wireless power transmission is the process that takes place in any system where electrical energy is transmitted from a power source to an electrical load, without interconnecting wires. Wireless transmission is ideal in cases where instantaneous or continuous energy transfer is needed, but interconnecting wires are inconvenient, hazardous, or impossible.
Though the physics of both are related, this is distinct from wireless transmission for the purpose of transferring information (such as radio), where the percentage of the power that is received is only important if it becomes too low to successfully recover the signal. With wireless energy transfer, the efficiency is a more critical parameter and this creates important differences in these technologies.



A

[DCM]

I read it as there being no need for a power 'source'

Imagine playing with an R/C car, boat, or soft air gun without chargers, power supplies, and extra battery packs.

So I don't see it 'receiving power' as that would require a power source.

[josh_smaxx]

Originally Posted by DCM

I read it as there being no need for a power 'source'



So I don't see it 'receiving power' as that would require a power source.

I think it means you dont need conventional battery/charging equipment, just the power source for this and the thing in your car.

I think its a good idea if it ever works reliably and i doubt it will ever become legal.

[DCM]

I must be getting old and green in my age, but the way as I see it being 'good for the earth' is if you transform mechanical force into energy, like a windup radio, if you use a wireless power source... whats the point. Still got to produce that energy....

I think Speed Passion are stirring up discussion

[big air]

I think it will be like dodgem cars with big ariels that touch the roof for the power

[DCM]

Originally Posted by big air

I think it will be like dodgem cars with big ariels that touch the roof for the power

that would make marshalling fun roflol

[Robbiejuk]

hmm wireless power has been done before though obviously not this small though.

I reckon that unit will plug into a power supply of somewhat and then transmit to your car. Interesting concept though.

[sim]

Originally Posted by DCM

I must be getting old and green in my age, but the way as I see it being 'good for the earth' is if you transform mechanical force into energy, like a windup radio, if you use a wireless power source... whats the point. Still got to produce that energy....

I think Speed Passion are stirring up discussion

Maybe they mean in the long run, we won't be dumping old NiMH and LiPo cells into the ground. But I'm skeptical of technologies that transmit big amounts of energy through the air. Remember when we were all worked up about our handphones frying our brains? This could only be much more powerful.

And from an efficiency point of view - I don't see it working on fast moving objects like RC cars. You can't send out energy in all directions and then have a high percentage of it being picked up at one particular point. Unless the transmitting station works out where to send the energy beforehand and focus all the energy into a narrow beam.

I just had a funny image in my head - Drivers up at the stand aiming their transmitters at their RC cars like laser guns while turn marshalls duck out of the way of the death rays.

[VintageRacer]

Well, at peak discharge motors draw 50A+, if I understand correctly.

50A @ 8V (just to keep the maths easier) = 400W power

As previously mentioned, if this power was distributed in all directions (tracking a fast moving car would be too expensive to bother with) power would fall according to the inverse square law. If the car is 10m away and my understanding right, that would mean the power would be 100 times weaker at the car compared to the power source, meaning it would need to be 40kW, which, according to this web page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/trans...al_radio.shtml

is significantly more powerful than all BBC's DAB radio transmitters!!

10m might be more than needed, especially if you put the power source in the middle of the track, but even a couple of meters gives a power source requirement of over a kW.

The legal maximum power output of a mobile phone is 3.6W but is typically less than 1W (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_...ion_and_health)

I don't think it's going to happen do you?

[k£v!n]

Update - Speed Passion Wireless Power



Following on from the information we published here, we have been able to find a picture showing “The wireless power” in an on-road car which was on display at the TITC.

[josh_smaxx]

Was it run at all do you know? or is it still a pretty box just sat in a car? it does look quite smart though.

[k£v!n]

From what I understand it wasn’t run, one indication of this is the motor without a pinion, however I’m not 100% shore, as soon as I find out more I will let you know!

[josh_smaxx]

And theres no power wires and the servo wire has been cut off, i had noticed. I just wondered it it had been tested at all.