One of the factors that keeps electric vehicles from wide adoption is range anxiety. Though battery technologies have come a long way in the last decade, with 100 miles on a charge being common and Teslas easily topping 200 miles, people still want to know they can take off on a family vacation or a weekend away. Road trip!
In the mobile age, we're largely unfettered by wires, thanks in no small part to Wi-Fi, cellular networking, and the rise of laptops, smartphones, and tablets. But one thin tether keeps us perennially bound: power. Though battery technologies have improved, we still need to charge our devices regularly. So-called "wireless power"—charging or power transmitted to a device without the need to plug that device in—has long been (supposedly) just shy of mainstream adoption.