Beam

The Xreal Beam starts shipping today in the US and Japan. The Beam is an alternative way to connect AR headsets like the Xreal Air to your PC, console or phone. Normally, you need a wired USB C-to-C connection between the headset and your device. With the Beam, however, you can go wireless. It still needs a USB connection to the glasses, but it’s a small device that you can slip in your pocket (doable with a phone, not so much with a PC or even a Nintendo Switch). The Beam also acts like a power bank and can run…

AR glasses are still a pipe dream. Early “smart” glasses like Amazon’s Echo Frames, the Ray-Ban Facebook Stories glasses, and Snap Spectacles hardly whet my appetite to experience the future of AR. The most interesting models, like the Xreal Air, Lenovo Glasses T1, and TCL NxtWear Air, simulate a big-screen TV to show a feed from a cable connected to a laptop or smartphone. There are even experiments like the Viture One XR that tried to sell the concept for cloud gaming. But none of these are true AR glasses. I…

Space manufacturing startup Orbital Composites and space energy company Virtus Solis have announced a collaboration to bring space-based solar power even closer to reality. The two have announced a megawatt-scale space-based solar power station that can collect energy from the Sun and beam it down to Earth.This Summer’s Hottest UmbrellaThe two companies announced a memorandum of understanding via press release yesterday which will see Virtus develop core technologies like the power station’s electronics and antennas…

A space solar power prototype has demonstrated its ability to wirelessly beam power through space and direct a detectable amount of energy toward Earth for the first time. The experiment proves the viability of tapping into a near-limitless supply of power in the form of energy from the sun from space.  Because solar energy in space isn’t subject to factors like day and night, obscuration by clouds, or weather on Earth, it is always available. In fact, it is estimated that space-based harvesters could potentially yield…

Best Buy is currently running a Father’s Day sale, where you can save pretty big on the Sonos Beam (Gen 2). It’s currently on sale for $399.20, which is about $99 off of its regular price. This does mark an all-time low, which is typically around $429. Sonos Beam Gen 2 - Best Buy Why you should buy the Sonos Beam Gen 2 Sure, here are 300 words on why someone should buy the Sonos Beam Gen 2: The Sonos Beam Gen 2 is a great soundbar for anyone looking to improve the sound quality of their TV. It’s compact and easy to set…

Solar power is the fastest-growing form of renewable energy and currently accounts for 3.6 percent of global electricity production today. This makes it the third largest source of the renewable energy market, followed by hydroelectric power and wind.These three methods are expected to grow exponentially in the coming decades, reaching 40 percent by 2035 and 45 percent by 2050. Altogether, renewables are expected to account for 90 percent of the energy market by mid-century, with solar accounting for roughly…

The California Institute of Technology has big news for space-based power. Researchers at the university have reportedly beamed solar power from space to Earth without a single wire—and they say it’s a first.This Summer’s Hottest UmbrellaThe experiment is a part of Caltech’s Space Solar Power Project, and the institute announced a successful transmission via press release yesterday. The researchers conducted the power transfer experiment using the Microwave Array for Power-transfer Low-orbit Experiment, or MAPLE, which is…

The sun will eventually burn up and expand, taking our solar system with it. But, before that happens, Japan and JAXA ,the country’s space administration, want to figure out a way to rip power from the sun and use it here on Earth. The answer there could come into play as early as 2025 when Japan plans to create a solar power beam down to Earth. Solar power has proven to be a very reliable source of renewable energy. The only downside is cloud coverage, nighttime, and other elements that make it harder for…

JAXA, Japan’s NASA equivalent, has spent decades trying to make it possible to beam solar energy from space – which seems like technology for a far-future space anime. In 2015, JAXA scientists successfully beamed 1.8 kilowatts of power, enough energy to power an electric kettle 50 meters away, wirelessly. Now, a Japanese public–private partnership will attempt to beam solar energy from space as early as 2025. The project involves deploying into orbit a series of small satellites, which will beam collected solar energy to…

Japan and JAXA, the country’s space administration, have trying to make it possible to beam solar energy from space. In 2015, the nation made a breakthrough when JAXA scientists successfully beamed 1.8 kilowatts of power, enough energy to power an electric kettle, to a wireless receiver. Now, Japan is poised to bring the technology one step closer to reality. reports a Japanese public-private partnership will attempt to beam solar energy from space as early as 2025. The project, led by Naoki Shinohara, a Kyoto…