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DARPA sets new records for sending power wirelessly | DARPA's POWER program seeks to build transmission lines of light where laser beams carry power to where it is required as easily as we now send data through the air.
Looking forward to a future where laser beams replace power lines, DAPRA's Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay (POWER) program has set new records for transmitting more power wirelessly over longer distances.
The system is built around what is called the Power Receiver Array Demo (PRAD), which is a ball-like structure that has a compact aperture to allow a laser beam to enter. At the moment, DARA is concentrating on power and distance, so the present efficiency of the system being a mere 20% is acceptable, though there are plans to improve this as the technology is scaled up. Currently in Phase One of a three-phase development effort, the program is working on how to most accurately and efficiently direct power, correcting the beam wavefront to maintain quality, making the system throttleable, and reduce conversion losses across the relays.
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