Nusrat Jahan
Meredith Perry (27), a former student of the University of Pennsylvania wondered why we could not have wireless power when we already make use of wireless internet and wireless-everything-else. So, like the doer she is, she decided to come up with an intricate answer to her question. Her answer is what created uBeam- a wireless chargind device that can charge any electronics through emitting sound waves. Perry, along with other hired contractors and experts, have been working on this technology since 2011. The company which is located in Santa Monica, California, has now raised more than $20 million in funding with the help of a lot of investors which includes Mark Cuban, Tony Hsieh, Marissa Mayer, and Marc Andreessen. Cuban believes that this start-up is a “zillion dollar idea”.
The uBeam transmitters alter energy intro ultrasound waves that are above the human hearing range. The sound is projected into only the devices present in the room, since it cannot travel through walls, and starts charging those devices.
Of course, with a mind-blowing technological discovery like this, Perry had to face a lot of criticism from skeptical and seasoned scientists. Some scientists do not even think that the device can work since it would need to defy the laws of physics to do so, while some believe that is harmful to send waves through humans. One physicist even went as far as to say that the amount of funding uBeam has received is an epitome of what is wrong with tech investments today.
In a recent talkshow at Imagination Day–which is part of the Tribeca Film Festival—she happily proved all the haters wrong and made it clear that her technology is safe to use. She said that they have already checked for all risks, and that they are now ready to mass-manufacture this device for the rest of the world to use.
The question that led Perry to invent this device is actually a very simple question. So why did no one else come up with this? Perry believes that the fact that she is not yet a big-expert in the field helped her to think about the issue in a more simplistic manner than seasoned scientists. After conducting a lot of research, Perry was able to break down the system into various steps, and with some funding, she was able to hire contractors to help her out. Thirty of the world’s top ultrasonic engineers, physicists, and electrical engineers worked on the making of uBeam.
Perry believes that the blueprints for even better inventions are probably stuck in the minds of teenagers and store clerks who have been crushed by the skeptical scientists who keep on saying “this won’t work” to anyone they see. She believes that if she had not been as stubborn as she was, then uBeam probably would not have seen the light of day.
Perry also advised that if we have an idea that has mixed reactions, it means that we are on the right track.
While the concept of uBeam sounds fascinating, we cannot really know for sure how well it works until the company holds its public demonstrations they promised will take place sometime this year.