New Transmitter to Recharge Electronic Devices Wirelessly

TT
20

New Transmitter to Recharge Electronic Devices Wirelessly

Powercast announced that it won the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval for its PowerSpot transmitter.

According to CNET website, the idea of the new device is that charging certain devices could work a little like Wi-Fi does: The devices just have to be in the vicinity, rather than plugged in or plopped down in a particular spot.

The biggest beneficiaries for now will likely be keyboards, remote controls and certain wearables.

The company plans to show off prototypes of its 3-watt PowerSpot at CES, the consumer electronics extravaganza in Las Vegas in January.

Up to this point, wireless charging has been a very short-range thing, based on two main standards, Qi and Powermat, for the home and places like McDonald's and Starbucks.

Pittsburgh-based Powercast wants to give you more room to roam.

Here's how its technology works. A transmitter broadcasts radio frequency energy on the 915MHz ISM band to a receiver embedded in a device, and the receiver converts that energy to direct current to power the device or charge the battery.

Powercast said it expects that up to 30 devices within range of a PowerSpot will be able to charge overnight, depending on the distance, as well as the type and power consumption of the individual device.

Powercast expects production units to be ready in the third quarter of 2018.



Wildfires Force Evacuation of Visitors and Staff at 2 National Parks in US West

This photo provided by the National Parks Service shows smoke from wildfires in the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park in Colorado on Thursday, July 10, 2025, after high temperatures, very low humidity, gusty winds, and very dry vegetation across the region led to extreme fire danger. (NPS via AP)
This photo provided by the National Parks Service shows smoke from wildfires in the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park in Colorado on Thursday, July 10, 2025, after high temperatures, very low humidity, gusty winds, and very dry vegetation across the region led to extreme fire danger. (NPS via AP)
TT
20

Wildfires Force Evacuation of Visitors and Staff at 2 National Parks in US West

This photo provided by the National Parks Service shows smoke from wildfires in the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park in Colorado on Thursday, July 10, 2025, after high temperatures, very low humidity, gusty winds, and very dry vegetation across the region led to extreme fire danger. (NPS via AP)
This photo provided by the National Parks Service shows smoke from wildfires in the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park in Colorado on Thursday, July 10, 2025, after high temperatures, very low humidity, gusty winds, and very dry vegetation across the region led to extreme fire danger. (NPS via AP)

Visitors and staff at two national parks in the US West have been evacuated because of wildfires.

Gunnison National Park, about 260 miles (418 kilometers) southwest of Denver, closed Thursday morning after lighting sparked blazes on both the North Rim and South Rim of the Black Canyon, the park said.

The wildfire has burned 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers), with no containment of the perimeter.

The conditions there have been ripe for wildfire with hot temperatures, low humidity, gusty winds and dry vegetation, the park said, adding that weather will remain a concern Friday.

The Grand Canyon's North Rim in Arizona also closed Thursday because of a wildfire on adjacent Bureau of Land Management land near Jacob Lake. The Coconino County Sheriff's Office said it helped evacuate people from an area north of Jacob Lake and campers in the Kaibab National Forest nearby.

The fire began Wednesday evening after a thunderstorm moved through the area, fire officials said. It has burned about 1.5 square miles (3.9 square kilometers) with zero containment.