Japan's Tokyo Institute of Technology uses lasers to power devices in a contactless manner

According to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Tokyo, the research conducted by Tomoyuki Miyamoto, an associate professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology, and his colleagues demonstrated the feasibility of using lasers to illuminate objects and convert light energy into electricity for operation. In addition to being able to power communication devices or household appliances, this could be the future of electric vehicles (EVs) that can be operated without recharging.

The team has successfully tested converting about 10 watts of power in this way to operate a drone by projecting a laser beam from the ground. In addition, lasers can travel through water to help operate unmanned devices that can move underwater without charging.

In fact, wireless power has been applied in the past few years, typically with wireless mobile phone charging devices. Although the power transmission efficiency is as high as 90%, it must be kept very close, at most a few centimeters. At the same time, the advantage of the laser is that it can transmit energy over long distances, and the transmission efficiency of the test is about 50%. If power transmission efficiency is improved, this could be the future technology capable of transmitting large currents over long distances.

However, the biggest challenge is to ensure human safety, as high-power lasers can be very dangerous if they come into contact with humans. Therefore, the technology is mainly used in unmanned environments at first, and later by combining with temperature sensors or cameras to help the device stop projecting lasers when it detects a person, the application will be more extensive.

Associate Professor Gong You said that the above technology can be put into practice in 2030, and by 2050, people can fully realize the use of electric vehicles without charging at fixed charging stations.

Source: Laser Network