Wednesday, April 16, 2014: FINsix, a company started by a team of MIT graduates have come up with the world’s smallest multiple device charger. ‘Dart’ might just be a viable alternative to the ever bulky laptop chargers that are such a big pain while carrying around as also create some record or two on the way!
Dart is a tiny battery charger that is based on Very High Frequency (VHF) power technology, developed and patented by the same team. It must be noted that in case of traditional chargers a bulky power converter delivers small packets of electric charge to the device being charged over alternate periods termed as switching cycles. The downside is during every round of switching, some energy is wated as heat thereby compromising on efficiency. In case of VHF switching frequencies (30-300 MHz) energy is processed more often and in much smaller chunks. Dart, based on the same technology enables switching upto 1,000 times faster, minimising energy wastage and providing upto 10x better power density, claim the developers.
Dart delivers the same power output as any other normal laptop battery charger, however, the fact that it is almost 4 times smaller and as much as 6 times lighter than the same adds to its appeal. Further, you can power one more USB device along the way. The world’s smallest multiple device charger is up for grabs on Kickstarter for $79. It is expected to hit physical markets in October.
