????據媒體7月報道，豐田公司（Toyota）計劃在2016年推出一款全新的混合動力版普銳斯（Prius）電動車，其特別之處在于，這款新車將完全不需要“插電”就能充電，這還要感謝一家名叫WiTricity的美國公司開發(fā)的無線充電技術。就在這條消息曝光后的次日，英特爾公司（Intel）也宣布將在2016年以前推出一款完全不需要任何電線的個人電腦，也就是說既不需要電源線，也不需要顯示器連接線。9天后，星巴克（Starbucks）不甘落后地宣布，該公司將在美國的所有星巴克門店桌子和柜臺上安裝Duracell Powermat公司的無線充電平板。

????對于無線充電技術來說，今年六月發(fā)布的種種消息，的確是讓人挺“來電”的。

????不過如果你對這個行業(yè)觀察得更深入的話，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)，我們今天的電子設備雖然移動化程度越來越高，但終究還是離不開一根電線。而無線充電技術卻將在未來幾年里顯著地改變我們與各種電子設備的關系。醫(yī)療器械公司Thoratec目前正在與WiTricity公司合作研究給人工心臟和其他醫(yī)療設備無線充電的方法。國防航天巨頭洛克希德馬丁公司（Lockheed Martin）也正在開發(fā)一套鐳射系統(tǒng)，用來給飛行中的無人機充電。其他從事無線充電技術研究的公司還有很多。

????據市調機構IHS科技公司的數據預測，全球無線充電市場的規(guī)模有望從2013年的2.16億美元飆升至2018年的85億美元。那么我們大多數人何必還要在家里放一大堆充電器呢？

????高通公司（Qualcomm）的工藝副總裁、無線電源聯(lián)盟（A4WP）的創(chuàng)始人兼總裁卡米爾?格拉吉斯基指出：“現(xiàn)實中，消費電子產品的無線充電市場總體上還處于非常初級的階段?！备窭够鶆?chuàng)立的無線電源聯(lián)盟是從事無線充電技術研發(fā)的三大組織之一。

????電磁感應作為無線充電的基礎技術，早就不是什么新鮮事物了，它已經存在了足有100多年，其原理如下：首先，充電座上的電磁感應線圈會形成一個電磁場，這個磁場與另外一個電磁感應線圈接觸后（這個線圈一般連接在需要充電的設備上），就會向其輸送電力。格拉吉斯基表示，它的工作原理跟用充電座給你的電動牙刷充電沒什么不同。

????不過電磁感應技術也有缺點，使它難以成為一種主流技術。首先，每個電磁感應線圈只能給一臺設備充電，因此在如今多設備并存的社會中不免顯得低效、不便。其次，它需要你把設備的位置放得很準確，才能讓線圈啟動和保持充電程序。

????電磁感應技術的支持者，比如Powermat公司的CEO蘭?波利亞凱恩等，都認為推廣無線充電技術的關鍵，并不在于怎樣實現(xiàn)最快速或最有效的連接，而在于如何讓人們在最需要的地方用上它。波利亞凱恩表示：“我們試圖解決的問題是，如何讓消費者整天都能充電。最大的阻礙就是關聯(lián)性，我們應該把充電點放在哪里？”他補充道：“你最需要這項服務的地方，是在家或辦公室以外的地方?！?/p>

????他說的很有道理。把充電點放在星巴克的門店里不失為一個好辦法，至少可以避免消費者在咖啡廳里長聊時不得不到處找電源插口。另外我們也可以把它放在機場、酒店或Powermat的充電站里。（大家可能不知道Powermat充電站的一個功能，如果它與該公司提供的一套基于云端的管理系統(tǒng)協(xié)同使用的話，那么一家零售店就可以監(jiān)測誰在哪個充電站待了多久。也就是說星巴克可以選擇讓你在那兒坐六個小時，或給你發(fā)送一張免費續(xù)杯的優(yōu)惠券把你留引過來。）

????Last month, it was revealed that Toyota had plans to release a plug-in electric Prius in 2016 that needed no plug at all to recharge, thanks to wireless technology from a U.S. company called WiTricity. The next day, Intel announced plans to release a completely wire-free personal computer by 2016—no power cord, no monitor cable, nothing. Nine days later, Starbucks announced that it would begin installing Duracell Powermat wireless charging pads in tables and counters in its stores across the United States.

????For wireless charging technology, the news headlines in June were, well, rather electric. (This is the part where you groan.)

????Look more closely, though, and you’ll notice that wireless charging tech is poised to break through in the next few years, dramatically changing our relationship with our increasingly mobile, but still tethered, electronic devices. Thoratec, a healthcare company, is working with WiTricity on a wireless way to charge heart pumps and other medical equipment. Lockheed Martin, the aerospace and defense giant, is working on a laser-based system to recharge drones in mid-flight. The list goes on.

????The wireless power market is expected to explode from a $216 million in 2013 to $8.5 billion in 2018 globally, according to IHS Technology, a market research firm. Why, then, are most of us still wrestling with a pile of cords at home?

????“The reality is that the overall wireless charging market for consumer electronics is in the very early stages,” says Kamil Grajski, vice president of engineering at Qualcomm and the founding president of the Alliance for Wireless Power, or A4WP for short, one of three groups working on the development of wireless charging technologies.

????Induction, the technology behind wireless charging, isn’t new—it’s been around for well over a hundred years. Here’s how it works: an induction coil creates an electromagnetic field (on a charging dock of some kind) that comes in contact with another induction coil (attached to the device to be charged), transferring electricity to it. It’s the same process used to juice up your electric toothbrush in its charging stand, Grajski says.

????But induction technology has limitations that have limited its mainstream appeal. It only allows for a single device to be charged per coil, making it clunky and relatively inefficient in today’s multi-device world, and it requires precise placement of the device to be charged so that the coils are aligned in order to initiate and sustain the charging process.

????Proponents of inductive technology like Ran Poliakine, chief executive of Powermat, believe the key to increasing adoption of wireless charging lies not in figuring out the fastest or most efficient connection, but in making the technology available to people where they need it most. “The issue we are trying to address is how do we keep consumers charged throughout the day,” he says. “The barrier to entry was relevancy. Where do we put the charging spots?” He added: “The place you mostly need this service is outside your home and your office.”

????He has a point. Placing charging stations in Starbucks locations is one way to do that, saving customers from the inevitable outlet search that comes with a drawn-out session at the café. Placement in airports and hotels, also in the works at Powermat, are two more ways. (One thing people may not know about Powermat’s charging stations: when used in conjunction with a cloud-based management system the company provides, a retailer can monitor who is at which station and for how long. Which means Starbucks could either give you the boot for squatting for six hours or beam you a coupon for a free refill to keep you there.)