Tech Demo Of Wireless Power Transmission Uses Optical Beaming To Run 5G Station

Oct, 2021 - By WMR

Ericson and PowerLight technologies confirmed the demonstration of a proof-of-concept of wireless power broadcast system to provide energy to a 5G station.

In attempts of developing technologies to improve deployment of Radio Access Network (RAN) sites Ericsson and PowerLight technologies demonstrated the first ever safe and wireless powered 5G base station. The demo used a method called as optical beaming which uses a laser for transmitting power to a 5G station. The demo included an Ericsson 5G millimetre wave (mmWave) radio base station named as Streetmacro 6701 and a laser technology of PowerLight to conduct electricity high intensity through air.

Wireless power is used for charging devices in now a days, however, it still needs to place the device on a pad, which limits its range. Lot of studies are conducted to build bigger systems that can power devices from anywhere in a room. PowerLight worked for years to develop such technology and now has demonstrated it in a collaboration with Ericsson. The system used in the demonstration consists two major parts, a transmitter and a receiver that can be apart in a considerably long distance. Unlike a tesla coil, the system uses electricity at the transmitter end to generate a strong light beam and sends it to the receiver. The receiver catches the beam using a particular photovoltaic array and converts the photons into electricity. To make the procedure safe, the beam is enclosed by a sensor cylinder that detects the approaching beam and closes the beam instantly. If in case the service is interrupted, the long interruptions are covered by the battery backup kept installed at the receiver site.

Furthermore, 5G units could become portable as they can be powered wirelessly making them useful in events or even through disasters where such wireless powering systems are needed. This system could also be used for making power grid more adaptable on the fly, recharging electric vehicles or even the space missions in the coming future.