TEDGlobal 2009
Eric Giler: A demo of wireless electricity
Eric Giler 示範無線電力傳輸
Filmed:
Readability: 3.4
2,250,411 views
Eric Giler 希望用無線電力傳輸技術將人們從有線的生活中解放出來。這個演講包含了這項科技能提供的運用，並展示MIT(麻省理工學院)的創新設計 - WiTricity，這是一項快要可以上市販售的新發明，可以讓手機、汽車或心律調整器以無線的方式充電。
Eric Giler - Wireless electrician
As the CEO of MIT-inspired WiTricity, Eric Giler has a plan to beam electric power through the air to wirelessly power your laptop or recharge your car. You may never plug in again. Full bio
As the CEO of MIT-inspired WiTricity, Eric Giler has a plan to beam electric power through the air to wirelessly power your laptop or recharge your car. You may never plug in again. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Early visions of wireless power
0
0
4000
無線電力的早期概念，
00:16
actually were thought of by Nikola Tesla
1
4000
3000
源自於自尼古拉．特斯拉的想法，
00:19
basically about 100 years ago.
2
7000
2000
大約在一百年前。
00:21
The thought that
3
9000
2000
那時大家認為，
00:23
you wouldn't want to transfer electric power wirelessly,
4
11000
3000
你不會想用無線的方式去傳輸電力，
00:26
no one ever thought of that.
5
14000
2000
也從來沒有人想過這件事。
00:28
They thought, "Who would use it if you didn't?"
6
16000
2000
大家都認為：「誰會想去做沒人要做的事？」
00:30
And so, in fact, he actually set about
7
18000
3000
即使如此，事實上，
00:33
doing a variety of things.
8
21000
2000
他確實做出了一些東西。
00:35
Built the Tesla coil. This tower was built
9
23000
2000
他建造了特斯拉線圈。這個塔建造於
00:37
on Long Island back at the beginning of the 1900s.
10
25000
4000
1900年代初期的長島上，
00:41
And the idea was, it was supposed to be able to transfer power
11
29000
2000
原始目的是希望利用這座塔把電力傳送到
00:43
anywhere on Earth.
12
31000
2000
地球上的每個角落。
00:45
We'll never know if this stuff worked. Actually, I think the
13
33000
2000
我們無法知道這東西是否有用。事實上我想，
00:47
Federal Bureau of Investigation
14
35000
2000
聯邦調查局(FBI)
00:49
took it down for security purposes,
15
37000
2000
基於安全考量將它拆掉了，
00:51
sometime in the early 1900s.
16
39000
3000
就在1900年代初期的某個時候。
00:54
But the one thing that did come out of electricity
17
42000
2000
不過這也說明了一些事情，
00:56
is that we love this stuff so much.
18
44000
2000
就是我們深深地愛上了電力。
00:58
I mean, think about how much we love this.
19
46000
2000
我是說，想想我們有多愛它。
01:00
If you just walk outside, there are trillions of dollars
20
48000
4000
只要你走出門，就會看見耗費幾兆美金
01:04
that have been invested in infrastructure around the world,
21
52000
2000
所建造的電力設施座落在世界各地，
01:06
putting up wires to get power from where it's created
22
54000
3000
接上了電線，將電力從發電的場所
01:09
to where it's used.
23
57000
2000
傳送到用戶端。
01:11
The other thing is, we love batteries.
24
59000
3000
另一件事，就是我們很愛電池。
01:14
And for those of us that have an environmental element to us,
25
62000
4000
愛用電池的我們會對環境造成一些影響，
01:18
there is something like 40 billion
26
66000
2000
每年大約會有四百億個
01:20
disposable batteries built every year
27
68000
2000
拋棄式電池被製造出來。
01:22
for power that, generally speaking,
28
70000
2000
一般來說，
01:24
is used within a few inches or a few feet
29
72000
3000
人們是在幾英吋或幾英呎的狹小範圍裡，
01:27
of where there is very inexpensive power.
30
75000
2000
使用這種便宜的電力來源。
01:29
So, before I got here,
31
77000
3000
在我來這裡之前，
01:32
I thought, "You know, I am from North America.
32
80000
2000
我想：「大家都知道，我來自於北美，
01:34
We do have a little bit of a reputation in the United States."
33
82000
3000
我們在美國還算小有名氣。」
01:37
So I thought I'd better look it up first.
34
85000
2000
所以我最好先查一下，
01:39
So definition number six is the North American
35
87000
3000
在北美對於"suck" 這個字的第六個定義，
01:42
definition of the word "suck."
36
90000
3000
意思是指很"差勁"。
01:45
Wires suck, they really do.
37
93000
2000
電線很差勁，它確實如此。
01:47
Think about it. Whether that's you in that picture
38
95000
3000
試想一下。你是不是照片裡的那個人，
01:50
or something under your desk.
39
98000
2000
或那些是不是你桌子下面的東西。
01:52
The other thing is, batteries suck too.
40
100000
3000
另外，電池也很差勁。
01:55
And they really, really do.
41
103000
2000
他們的確是如此。
01:57
Do you ever wonder what happens to this stuff?
42
105000
2000
有想過這東西會變成什麼嗎？
01:59
40 billion of these things built.
43
107000
2000
四百億個電池被製造出來以後，
02:01
This is what happens.
44
109000
2000
這就是接下來會發生的事。
02:03
They fall apart, they disintegrate,
45
111000
2000
他們會裂開、會碎掉，
02:05
and they end up here.
46
113000
2000
結果變成這樣。
02:07
So when you talk about expensive power,
47
115000
3000
所以當你提到昂貴的電力時，
02:10
the cost per kilowatt-hour
48
118000
4000
你得知道，若以電池供電，
02:14
to supply battery power to something
49
122000
2000
每千瓦小時就得耗去
02:16
is on the order of two to three hundred pounds.
50
124000
3000
大約兩百到三百磅重的電池。
02:19
Think about that.
51
127000
2000
想想看，
02:21
The most expensive grid power in the world
52
129000
2000
世界上最昂貴的電力網絡
02:23
is thousandths of that.
53
131000
3000
會是它的數千倍。
02:26
So fortunately, one of the other definitions
54
134000
3000
幸運的是，Suck 的另一個定義
02:29
of "suck" that was in there, it does create a vacuum.
55
137000
3000
是指它會造成真空，
02:32
And nature really does abhor a vacuum.
56
140000
3000
而大自然確實也不喜歡真空狀態。
02:35
What happened back a few years ago
57
143000
2000
幾年前，
02:37
was a group of theoretical physicists at MIT
58
145000
4000
MIT(麻省理工學院)的一群理論物理學家們
02:41
actually came up with this concept of transferring power over distance.
59
149000
4000
提出了遠距電力傳輸的概念。
02:45
Basically they were able to light a 60 watt light bulb
60
153000
4000
基本上，他們已經可以點亮一盞距離兩公尺遠的
02:49
at a distance of about two meters.
61
157000
2000
六十瓦的燈泡。
02:51
It got about 50 percent of the efficiency --
62
159000
3000
它的電力傳輸效率大概是五十%。
02:54
by the way, that's still a couple thousand times
63
162000
2000
即使如此，這種方式的傳輸效率
02:56
more efficient than a battery would be, to do the same thing.
64
164000
3000
已經比用電池做同一件事高上數千倍。
02:59
But were able to light that,
65
167000
2000
但確實可以點亮燈泡，
03:01
and do it very successfully.
66
169000
2000
而且相當地成功。
03:03
This was actually the experiment. So you can see
67
171000
2000
這只是實驗而已。所以你會發現
03:05
the coils were somewhat larger.
68
173000
3000
這些線圈看起來有點大。
03:08
The light bulb was a fairly simple task, from their standpoint.
69
176000
3000
對他們來說，點亮燈泡是一件很簡單的事。
03:11
This all came from a professor
70
179000
3000
這一切源自於一個教授，
03:14
waking up at night to the third night in a row
71
182000
2000
連續三個晚上
03:16
that his wife's cellphone was beeping
72
184000
2000
都被他老婆手機的嗶嗶聲給吵醒，
03:18
because it was running out of battery power.
73
186000
3000
因為手機的電池快沒電了。
03:21
And he was thinking, "With all the electricity that's out there in the walls,
74
189000
4000
於是他想：「明明牆上就有電，
03:25
why couldn't some of that just come into the phone so I could get some sleep?"
75
193000
3000
為什麼電不能自己跑進手機裡，那我就可以好好睡覺了？」
03:28
And he actually came up with this concept
76
196000
2000
於是他藉由共振方式傳遞能量，
03:30
of resonant energy transfer.
77
198000
2000
來實現了這個概念。
03:32
But inside a standard transformer are two coils of wire.
78
200000
4000
在標準的變壓器中有兩個線圈，
03:36
And those two coils of wire are really, really close to each other,
79
204000
3000
這兩個線圈靠得很近，
03:39
and actually do transfer power
80
207000
4000
在這非常短的距離中，以磁能的方式，
03:43
magnetically and wirelessly, only over a very short distance.
81
211000
3000
來進行無線的能量傳遞。
03:46
What Dr. Soljacic figured out how to do
82
214000
3000
Soljacic 博士所想到的作法是，
03:49
was separate the coils in a transformer
83
217000
3000
將變壓器中的線圈分開，
03:52
to a greater distance than the size of those transformers
84
220000
4000
移到比變壓器尺寸更遠的距離，
03:56
using this technology, which is not dissimilar
85
224000
2000
讓能量無線傳遞，
03:58
from the way an opera singer shatters a glass on the other side of the room.
86
226000
4000
原理就像是歌劇的演唱者將隔壁房裡杯子震破一般。
04:02
It's a resonant phenomenon
87
230000
2000
這是一種共振原理，
04:04
for which he actually received a MacArthur Fellowship Award,
88
232000
3000
藉此他得到了麥克阿瑟獎，
04:07
which is nicknamed the Genius Award,
89
235000
2000
這個獎又被稱為天才獎，
04:09
last September, for his discovery.
90
237000
3000
他的發明讓他在去年九月得到了這個獎。
04:12
So how does it work?
91
240000
2000
那麼，它怎麼運作呢？
04:14
Imagine a coil. For those of you that are engineers,
92
242000
3000
在座如果有工程師的話，請你想像一下線圈，
04:17
there's a capacitor attached to it too.
93
245000
2000
上面還接著一個電容。
04:19
And if you can cause that coil to resonate,
94
247000
3000
如果你能夠讓線圈共振，
04:22
what will happen is it will pulse
95
250000
2000
那麼它將會產生脈衝，
04:24
at alternating current frequencies --
96
252000
2000
那是種交流電的頻率，
04:26
at a fairly high frequency, by the way.
97
254000
3000
相當高的頻率。
04:29
And if you can bring another device
98
257000
4000
如果你拿另一組線圈，
04:33
close enough to the source,
99
261000
2000
盡可能地靠近共振線圈時，
04:35
that will only work at exactly that frequency,
100
263000
3000
它將會產生完全相同的頻率，
04:38
you can actually get them to do what's called strongly couple,
101
266000
4000
你可以讓它們形成一種叫做強耦合的現象，
04:42
and transfer magnetic energy between them.
102
270000
4000
如此就可以在彼此間進行磁能傳遞。
04:46
And then what you do is, you start out with electricity,
103
274000
2000
你所要做的是提供電力，
04:48
turn it into magnetic field, take that magnetic field,
104
276000
2000
然後將電力轉換成磁場，
04:50
turn it back into electricity,
105
278000
2000
再將磁場轉換回電力，
04:52
and then you can use it.
106
280000
3000
這樣你就可以使用它了。
04:55
Number one question I get asked.
107
283000
2000
我最常被問的問題是，
04:57
I mean, people are worried about cellphones being safe.
108
285000
2000
人們都擔心手機的安全性，
04:59
You know. What about safety?
109
287000
2000
那這個東西的安全性如何呢？
05:01
The first thing is this is not a "radiative" technology.
110
289000
2000
首先，這並不是放射技術，
05:03
It doesn't radiate.
111
291000
2000
它不會產生放射電波，
05:05
There aren't electric fields here. It's a magnetic field.
112
293000
3000
不會有電場產生，這是一種磁場。
05:08
It stays within either what we call the source,
113
296000
2000
它只會存在於發射源
05:10
or within the device.
114
298000
2000
或接受器中。
05:12
And actually, the magnetic fields we're using
115
300000
2000
事實上我們所用的磁場，
05:14
are basically about the same as the Earth's magnetic field.
116
302000
3000
基本上跟地球的磁場是一樣的東西，
05:17
We live in a magnetic field.
117
305000
2000
我們就生活在磁場中。
05:19
And the other thing that's pretty cool about the technology is
118
307000
3000
另外，這個技術有一個很酷的地方，
05:22
that it only transfers energy to things that work at exactly the same frequency.
119
310000
4000
就是能量只會傳送到頻率完全相同的地方，
05:26
And it's virtually impossible in nature to make that happen.
120
314000
4000
這個在自然界中幾乎是不可能發生的事。
05:30
Then finally we have governmental bodies everywhere
121
318000
2000
而且，世界各地都有政府組織，
05:32
that will regulate everything we do.
122
320000
2000
會監管我們所做的一切，
05:34
They've pretty much set field exposure limits,
123
322000
2000
他們設定了許多關於放射限制的規範，
05:36
which all of the things in the stuff I'll show you today
124
324000
2000
而今天我要展示給你們看的東西，
05:38
sort of sit underneath those guidelines.
125
326000
3000
都在這些限制規範內。
05:41
Mobile electronics.
126
329000
2000
攜帶性電子產品、
05:43
Home electronics.
127
331000
2000
家用的電子產品、
05:45
Those cords under your desk, I bet everybody here
128
333000
2000
在你桌子下面的電線，我打賭在這裡的每個人
05:47
has something that looks like that or those batteries.
129
335000
3000
都有類似的東西或電池，
05:50
There are industrial applications.
130
338000
2000
這些東西也可以運用在工業上，
05:52
And then finally, electric vehicles.
131
340000
2000
最後則是電動車。
05:54
These electric cars are beautiful.
132
342000
2000
這些電動車很美，
05:56
But who is going to want to plug them in?
133
344000
3000
但是誰會希望它們要插電？
05:59
Imagine driving into your garage -- we've built a system to do this --
134
347000
3000
想像著當你把車開進車庫 - 我們在裡面裝置了一套系統 -
06:02
you drive into your garage, and the car charges itself,
135
350000
4000
當你把車開進車庫後，車子就自動開始充電。
06:06
because there is a mat on the floor that's plugged into the wall.
136
354000
3000
因為地上的毯子已經連接到牆上的電源了，
06:09
And it actually causes your car to charge safely and efficiently.
137
357000
4000
你的車子可以既安全又有效率地充電。
06:13
Then there's all kinds of other applications. Implanted medical devices,
138
361000
3000
還有其他各種方面的運用，例如植入式醫療裝置，
06:16
where people don't have to die of infections anymore
139
364000
2000
人們不會再因為遭受感染而死亡，
06:18
if you can seal the thing up.
140
366000
2000
你只要把東西密封起來就行了，
06:20
Credit cards, robot vacuum cleaners.
141
368000
2000
像是信用卡及吸塵器等。
06:22
So what I'd like to do is take a couple minutes
142
370000
2000
我想花幾分鐘來說明，
06:24
and show you, actually, how it works.
143
372000
4000
讓你們了解它的實際運作方式。
06:28
And what I'm going to do is to show you pretty much what's here.
144
376000
5000
我要給大家看些東西，
06:33
You've got a coil.
145
381000
3000
這是一個線圈，
06:36
That coil is connected to an R.F. amplifier
146
384000
3000
這個線圈連結到一個高頻放大器，
06:39
that creates a high-frequency oscillating magnetic field.
147
387000
4000
它會產生一個高頻震盪的磁場，
06:43
We put one on the back of the television set.
148
391000
2000
我們在這電視機背後也放了一組線圈。
06:45
By the way, I do make it look a little bit easier than it is.
149
393000
3000
對了，我現在只是讓它看起來比實際上簡單一點，
06:48
There's lots of electronics and secret sauce
150
396000
2000
其中還有許多電子設備和秘訣，
06:50
and all kinds of intellectual property that go into it.
151
398000
5000
以及各種智慧財產在裡面。
06:55
But then what's going to happen is, it will create a field.
152
403000
3000
接下來，它會產生磁場，
06:58
It will cause one to get created
153
406000
2000
它會讓另一端
07:00
on the other side.
154
408000
3000
也產生磁場。
07:03
And if the demo gods are willing,
155
411000
2000
如果一切順利的話，
07:05
in about 10 seconds or so we should see it.
156
413000
2000
大約十秒左右我們就會看見。
07:07
The 10 seconds actually are because we --
157
415000
2000
十秒是因為我們 ...
07:09
I don't know if any of you have ever thought about plugging a T.V. in
158
417000
3000
我不知道是否有人會想幫電視插上插頭，
07:12
when you use just a cord.
159
420000
2000
因為我現在只用一組線圈來產生電力。
07:14
Generally, you have to go over and hit the button. So I thought
160
422000
2000
一般來說你必須過去按下按鈕，
07:16
we put a little computer in it that has to wake up
161
424000
2000
所以我們在裡面放一個小電腦，
07:18
to tell it to do that.
162
426000
4000
用來開啟電視。
07:26
So, I'll plug that in.
163
434000
2000
好，我插上插頭了，
07:28
It creates a magnetic field here.
164
436000
3000
這邊產生了磁場，
07:31
It causes one to be created out here.
165
439000
2000
它讓那邊也產生了磁場。
07:33
And as I said, in sort of about 10 seconds
166
441000
3000
大概十秒左右
07:36
we should start to see ...
167
444000
4000
我們將會看見...
07:40
This is a commercially --
168
448000
2000
這是一個市面上販售的
07:42
(Applause)
169
450000
7000
(鼓掌)
07:49
available color television set.
170
457000
3000
一台市面上販售的彩色電視機。
07:52
Imagine, you get one of these things. You want to hang them on the wall.
171
460000
2000
想像一下，當你買一台掛在牆壁上，
07:54
How many people want to hang them on the wall?
172
462000
2000
有多少人想把它掛在牆上？
07:56
Think about it. You don't want those ugly cords coming down.
173
464000
2000
想想，你不會想要醜陋的電線垂在那邊。
07:58
Imagine if you can get rid of it.
174
466000
2000
想像一下如果你能擺脫這些電線。
08:00
The other thing I wanted to talk about was safety.
175
468000
2000
另外我想談談安全性。
08:02
So, there is nothing going on. I'm okay.
176
470000
4000
我很好，什麼事都沒發生。
08:06
And I'll do it again, just for safety's sake.
177
474000
2000
為了證實安全性，我再做一次。
08:08
Almost immediately, though, people ask,
178
476000
3000
人們幾乎都會立刻想到這個問題，
08:11
"How small can you make this? Can you make this small enough?"
179
479000
3000
「你可以讓它變得多小？夠小嗎？」
08:14
Because remember Dr. Soljacic's original idea
180
482000
4000
請記住 Soljacic 博士最初的想法，
08:18
was his wife's cellphone beeping.
181
486000
2000
是源自於他老婆的手機嗶嗶聲。
08:20
So, I wanted to show you something.
182
488000
3000
所以我想給你們看一些東西，
08:23
We're an equal opportunity designer of this sort of thing.
183
491000
2000
我們也有同樣的機會來設計這類東西。
08:25
This a Google G1.
184
493000
2000
這是 Google G1，
08:27
You know, it's the latest thing that's come out.
185
495000
2000
你知道，這是剛出來的最新機種，
08:29
It runs the Android operating system.
186
497000
2000
它使用Android作業系統。
08:31
I think I heard somebody talk about that before.
187
499000
2000
我之前聽過某人聊到它，
08:33
It's odd. It has a battery.
188
501000
2000
它看起來有點怪，它有電池，
08:35
It also has coiled electronics
189
503000
2000
它的背後還裝入了
08:37
that WiTricity has put into the back of it.
190
505000
2000
稱為 WiTricity 的線圈電力系統。
08:39
And if I can get the camera --
191
507000
3000
所以如果可以，麻煩鏡頭拍一下，
08:42
okay, great --
192
510000
2000
好，很好。
08:44
you'll see, as I get sort of close...
193
512000
6000
當我把它靠近時你將會看見 ...
08:50
you're looking at a cellphone powered completely wirelessly.
194
518000
4000
這手機現在完全依靠無線電力供電。
08:54
(Applause)
195
522000
5000
(掌聲)
08:59
And I know some of you are Apple aficionados.
196
527000
3000
我知道你們有些人是Apple迷，
09:02
So, you know they don't make it easy at Apple to get inside their phones.
197
530000
2000
你知道要把東西放進Apple手機裡很不容易，
09:04
So we put a little sleeve on the back,
198
532000
2000
所以我們在背後放了一個套子，
09:06
but we should be able to get this guy to wake up too.
199
534000
3000
我們應該也可以讓它啟動。
09:09
And those of you that have an iPhone recognize the green center.
200
537000
7000
有iPhone的人應該認得中間的綠色圖像。
09:16
(Applause)
201
544000
1000
(掌聲)
09:17
And Nokia as well.
202
545000
2000
Nokia也一樣。
09:19
You'll see that what we did there is put a little thing in the back, to do that,
203
547000
4000
我們在後面放入一些小東西來達到目的，
09:23
and it probably beeps, actually, as it goes on as well.
204
551000
3000
當它啟動時會發出嗶嗶聲，
09:26
But they typically use it to light up the screen.
205
554000
2000
不過電力主要還是用來啟動螢幕。
09:28
So, imagine these things could go ... they could go in your ceiling.
206
556000
3000
想像一下可以運用的地方，可以放進天花板，
09:31
They could go in the floor. They could go, actually, underneath your desktop.
207
559000
3000
可以放進地板裡，也可以放在你的電腦下面。
09:34
So that when you walk in or you come in from home,
208
562000
3000
當你走進房內，或從家裡出來時，
09:37
if you carry a purse, it works in your purse.
209
565000
2000
如果你帶著皮包，它在皮包裡也可以運作。
09:39
You never have to worry about plugging these things in again.
210
567000
4000
你不用再煩惱要插電這種事，
09:43
And think of what that would do for you.
211
571000
2000
想想這可以幫你做什麼事。
09:45
So I think in closing,
212
573000
4000
最後，
09:49
sort of in the immortal visions of The New Yorker magazine,
213
577000
4000
就像New Yorker 雜誌有其矢志達成的願景一樣，
09:53
I thought I'd put up one more slide.
214
581000
4000
我要再放一張投影片，
09:57
And for those of you who can't read it, it says,
215
585000
2000
若有人看不懂，讓我唸出來：
09:59
"It does appear to be some kind of wireless technology."
216
587000
2000
「這看起來像是某種無線技術。」
10:01
So, thank you very much.
217
589000
2000
以上，謝謝大家。
10:03
(Applause)
218
591000
1000
(掌聲)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Eric Giler - Wireless electricianAs the CEO of MIT-inspired WiTricity, Eric Giler has a plan to beam electric power through the air to wirelessly power your laptop or recharge your car. You may never plug in again.
Why you should listen
Eric Giler heads WiTricity, a startup with a product straight out of science fiction: wireless electricity, beamed from a base station to your electrical devices. The technology was developed by an MIT team led by theoretical physicist Marin Soljačić (who won a MacArthur "genius"grant last year). Now, WiTricity is one of several startups developing tech to safely transmit power through the air -- and potentially untether our electronic age.
The technology at the core of WiTricity's approach is called magnetic coupled resonance, which can provoke an energetic response at a distance between two coils, one powered, the other not. If the two coils are correctly tuned to one another, energy flows from the connected one (installed, say, on the ceiling of a room) into the other (inside, say, your laptop). Giler presented a demo of it at TEDGlobal 2009 -- and several companies are already planning to add it to their phones, cameras, TVs and other devices.
Eric Giler | Speaker | TED.com