Company:uBeam

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uBeam
Native name
uBeam
TypePrivately held company
IndustryTechnology
Founded2012 in New York, New York United States
FounderMeredith Perry
Headquarters
Los Angeles
,
USA
Key people
Meredith Perry, Dr. Matthew O'Donnell, Dr. Martine Rothblatt, Chuck Davis, Ken Hertz
ProductsWireless Power, Ultrasonic Transceivers, Ultrasonic Sensors
ServicesWireless Power
Website[1]

uBeam is a U.S. company that is developing a wireless charging system that is designed to work via ultrasound.

History

uBeam was founded in 2011 by Meredith Perry while she was a student at the University of Pennsylvania for the school's invention competition, deemed "PennVention".[1] uBeam won PennVention in April 2011 and in demonstrated the first prototype of the technology at The Wall Street Journal 's All Things Digital Conference, D9 in May 2011.[2][3]

uBeam has received $26 million in investment from venture capitalists and investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Upfront Ventures, Founders Fund as well as billionaire Mark Cuban and former Yahoo! Inc. Chief Executive Marissa Mayer.[4]. Axios reported that uBeam privately demonstrated a working prototype of the technology at the Upfront Summit on February 2, 2017[5]. uBeam publicly demonstrated wirelessly charging several iPhone 7s, Samsung Galaxy S7's, and LEDs simultaneously to USA Today, which was published on the front page of the newspaper on June 1, 2017.[6]

Technology

In November 2015, the company released technical specifications for its proposed system. uBeam's system would transmit a pure ultrasound using a single frequency between 45 kHz - 75 kHz, with a sound intensity of 145 dB to 155 dB SPL, and that it would use a phased array technique to direct the beam.[4]

Criticisms

Some observers have been critical of the company's ultrasound technology, stating that uBeam's claims are unlikely to be achievable. Critics have also cited problems such as the difficulty of achieving high efficiency in sound transfer, of achieving an unobstructed path for the beam, and the high absorption of high frequency ultrasound in air.[7][8][9][10]

Safety

uBeam has stated the technology will transmit a single frequency of pure ultrasound within 45-75 kHz. OSHA states in Appendix C--Ultrasound:

Ultrasound is any sound whose frequency is too high for the human ear to hear. (The upper frequency that the human ear can detect is approximately 15 to 20 kilohertz, or kHz, although some people can detect higher frequencies, and the highest frequency a person can detect normally declines with age.)[11]

OSHA Section C.1 Health Effects and Threshold Limit Values (TLVs):[11]

Research indicates that ultrasonic noise has little effect on general health unless there is direct body contact with a radiating ultrasonic source. Reported cases of headache and nausea associated with airborne ultrasonic exposures appear to have been caused by high levels of audible noise from source subharmonics. Subharmonics are sound waves with frequencies that are a fraction (e.g., one-half, one-quarter) of the original ultrasound frequency. Because they are lower than the ultrasound, the human ear can detect them. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists has established permissible ultrasound exposure levels. These recommended limits (set at the middle frequencies of the one-third octave bands from 10 kHz to 100 kHz) are designed to prevent possible hearing loss caused by the subharmonics of the set frequencies, rather than the ultrasound itself.[11]

OSHA also states:

For a detailed review of ultrasound effects on human hearing, published literature, international ultrasound standards, and recommendations for future directions, see: Lawton, B.W. 2001. Damage to Human Hearing by Airborne Sound of Very High Frequency or Ultrasonic Frequency. Health and Safety Executive.[12]

The report concludes:

There is not sufficient data in the literature to support, or even contemplate, a dose response relation between occupational exposure to VHF noise and resultant hearing risk.[11]

Industrial regulations limit ultrasound power density over the range of 40 kHz to 100 kHz to 115 dB (Sweden, Poland, the former USSR[13][14][15]), 110 dB for the unprotected ears but 137 dB elsewhere on the body (Canada[16]), or 145 dB (USA[14]). uBeam's proposed operating conditions are therefore above or exactly at these limits in those countries. Ultrasound is non-ionizing radiation, and airborne ultrasound has no potential to damage tissue.[17] There is no data to support, or even contemplate, a dose response relation between occupational exposure to very high frequency noise and resultant hearing risk.[11]

The company also states that the beam will cut out automatically if it is intercepted by objects other than the receiver, ensuring safety.[18]

Dr Joseph Pompei of Audio Spotlight has published data showing that their product safely generates ultrasonic sound pressure levels around 130 dB (at 60 kHz) measured at 3 meters with no impact to humans nor pets.[19]

The frequencies uBeam states they intend to use are similar to that of rear Parking sensors found in most modern vehicles.

References

  1. ↑ "Ubeam". https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/ubeam#/entity. Retrieved 25 May 2016. 
  2. ↑ "D9 Video: uBeam Demo". https://www.wsj.com/video/d9-video-ubeam-demo/7332C7FB-8AEC-409D-9CA5-5A1DA2DBF0D1.html. Retrieved 1 October 2017. 
  3. ↑ "New technology beams power over sound waves". 3 June 2011. https://www.cnet.com/news/new-technology-beams-power-over-sound-waves/. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Constine, Josh (7 November 2015). "uBeam Declassifies Secrets To Try To Prove Wireless Power Is Possible". https://techcrunch.com/2015/11/07/wireless-power-charger/. Retrieved 2015-11-10. 
  5. ↑ "uBeam finally shows off its wireless charging tech". 3 February 2017. https://www.axios.com/ubeam-finally-shows-off-its-wireless-charging-technology-2236385621.html. Retrieved 1 October 2017. 
  6. ↑ "uBeam's Meredith Perry shows her stealth wireless charging technology really works". https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/06/01/ubeams-meredith-perry-shows-her-stealth-wireless-charging-technology-really-works/102336880/. Retrieved 1 October 2017. 
  7. ↑ "Skeptics Zap Wireless Charging | Los Angeles Business Journal". http://labusinessjournal.com/news/2015/nov/08/skeptics-zap-wireless-charging/. 
  8. ↑ Gomes, Lee (9 November 2015). "Can uBeam's Through-the-Air Phone Charging System Live Up to the Hype?". http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/consumer-electronics/portable-devices/can-ubeams-throughtheair-phone-charging-system-live-up-to-the-hype. Retrieved 2015-11-10. 
  9. ↑ Dale, Brady (9 November 2015). "Wireless Charging: uBeam's Headache and Nausea Question". http://observer.com/2015/11/ubeam-questions-headache-nausea-hearing-loss/. Retrieved 2015-11-10. 
  10. ↑ "uBeam FAQ". 12 October 2015. http://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/the-ubeam-faq/. Retrieved 2015-11-12. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 "OSHA Technical Manual (OTM) | Section III: Chapter 5 - Noise" (in en-us). Occupational Safety and Health Administration. https://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/new_noise/#appendixc.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  12. ↑ Lawton, B.W. (2001). "Damage to Human Hearing by Airborne Sound of Very High Frequency or Ultrasonic Frequency. Health and Safety Executive.". http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/crr_pdf/2001/crr01343.pdf. 
  13. ↑ "Effects of Ultrasonic Noise on the Human Body—A Bibliographic Review". International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics. http://archiwum.ciop.pl/59815. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Review of Current Recommendations for Airborne Ultrasound Exposure Limits". Proceedings of ACOUSTICS 2005. https://www.acoustics.asn.au/conference_proceedings/AAS2005/papers/55.pdf. 
  15. ↑ "Airborne ultrasonic standards for hearing protection, 2008". 9th International Congress on Noise as a Public Health Problem. http://www.icben.org/2008/PDFs/Lenhardt.pdf. 
  16. ↑ "Guidelines for the Safe Use of Ultrasound". Health Canada. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/radiation/safety-code_24-securite/index-eng.php. 
  17. ↑ Health, Center for Devices and Radiological. "Medical Imaging - Ultrasound Imaging". http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/MedicalImaging/ucm115357.htm. Retrieved 1 October 2017. 
  18. ↑ Constine, Josh (October 8, 2015). "uBeam Finally Reveals The Secret Of How Its Wireless Charging Phone Case Works Safely". https://techcrunch.com/2015/10/08/how-ubeam-works/. Retrieved 2015-11-10. 
  19. ↑ Joseph, Pompei, F. (1 September 1999). "The Use of Airborne Ultrasonics for Generating Audible Sound Beams". Journal of the Audio Engineering Society 47 (9). http://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=12092. Retrieved 1 October 2017. 

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