Laser power beaming sets record
Power beaming sets record; energy receiver turns 30 seconds transmission into 800 watts
DARPA recently tested the Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay (POWER) program and achieved a new record, more than 800 waste during a 30 seconds transmission over a distance of 8.6 kilometres. The receiver (designed by Teravec Technologies) uses a centre aperture for the laser beam to enter. A parabolic mirror reflects the laser onto a dozen photovoltaic cells that convert the energy back to usable power. Usable means that the team used the energy to make some nice popcorn.
The transmitter and receiver were on the ground, making it even more impressive: “It’s a lot easier to send a power beam directly up or down relative to the ground because there is so much less atmosphere to fight through,” a researcher explains. “For PRAD (POWER Receiver Array Demo), we wanted to test under the maximum impact of atmospheric effects.”
The program is now moving forward to demonstrate the benefits of integrated relays and vertical power transmission and is seeking the creativity and innovation of potential partners to accomplish this as part of POWER Phase 2.
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