A3 Power and Batteries: the Obstacle to True Mobility

By Yannick Wong on March 24, 2019

Inspired by my discussion of the limitations of mobile technologies in my A1 assignment, I decided to do another podcast episode talking about a tech problem that we face every day yet probably don’t think much about. Here, I discuss the importance of power storage and delivery in mobile technology and the trends and challenges of future development in the area. Enjoy!

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31 Mar0  Thumbs Up!Sarah Wong

Hi Yannick, your podcast presentation has been very interesting. I am fairly in familiar with how batteries work and how they have progressed to allow us to be more mobile but I have not actually thought about how batteries and power will impact how we educate our students. It was at most a passing thought as students come by to ask me to borrow my phone or laptop charger. It would have been interesting see more of a discussion on how this could directly influence education.

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31 Mar0  Thumbs Up!Scott Lillis

Yannick, with my now 4 and a half year old phone I am painfully aware of your topic and considered doing something like it for this assignment myself! I am fortunate that I am often at a desk and able to plug my phone in during my work day, as otherwise my battery cannot last an entire work day even with minimal use. I suppose I echo Kristie’s sentiments when she says that the battery life of her phone drives her crazy but not enough to get the battery replaced! I plan to get at least another year out of my phone, as my wife and I both have iPhone 6s that we purchased for ourselves outright without being connected to any type of contract (we don’t live in Canada) and we haven’t seen the need to upgrade to get a better camera or a larger screen, etc. While schools rely on technology and students today are expected to bring their own device or use school owned technology, schools are not great places for students that want to use them, as power outlets are not really part of the design of classrooms. As a teacher I have set up power bars and often have a number of devices charging at once, but most students rely on battery packs to get them through the school day and I often see students abandoning use of their laptops in the afternoon because they simply can’t use them anymore and don’t have a place to plug them in to charge them. As I mentioned, I thought about this issue for my forecasting project as well and briefly looked at the idea of wireless charging wifi routers and, while I would love to see something that had the ability to charge devices that were within range, I would certainly have some reservations as to the safety of such technology!

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30 Mar0  Thumbs Up!eric bankes

Hi Yannick Your topic is interesting. Although there has certainly been a lot of progress made with lithium ion batteries and the switch from nickel cadmium the reality is progress has been incredibly slow. The bigger issue has been moore’s law and the exponential growth of the transistor. While transistors every year are becoming more and more powerful and with the emergence of neural networks. The fact is that battery technology is just not keeping up with the incredible demand being placed on it. As we move towards electric vehicles, I hope that the immense amount of money being made available to this industry will spawn research into new technologies. I have heard about power networks and its potential and I think it will certainly be a part of the solution but the reality is there is a need for a new battery technology that isn’t yet available. Eric

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29 Mar1  Thumbs Up!Marc Tavares

Interesting OER Yannick! I was able to listen to it this morning on my drive into work so I enjoyed it as a podcast. I echo the sentiments of the others here that batteries are incredibly important, but not something I think about often, unless I’m at 2% and need an Uber. The more mobile we get and the more capable our processors get, the more charging we need to do. I was on a field study trip with a group of students that carried multiple portable batteries in their bags for mobile charging. It became comical seeing them trade and barter battery power. I welcome a future where we take fast and quick charging a new level that doesn’t pose health and safety concerns. I came across an Indiegogo page for sequent, which claims to be the world’s first self-charging smartwatch based on kinetic power. This is a future I look forward too.

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27 Mar0  Thumbs Up!Katie Cowen

Interesting podcast Yannick. It is not something I think about often, or at all, but is very necessary as power and batteries is at the root of why technology exists. It’s important that as educators we understand how to keep our educational tools powered so we are able to use them. I’ve always really wanted to try a portable pad charger, but many times even with those, they need to be charged in order to charge your phone or tablet etc! Power in mobility is essential and necessary so I agree with the points you make particularly in moving forward and educating ourselves and others.

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27 Mar0  Thumbs Up!allison burnett

Interesting podcast, Yannick! Batteries and power sources are akin to car tires for me – not something that is top of mind but absolutely necessary to have in order to function! 🙂 In all of the technology innovation and progress, batteries and battery life is truly an integral part to the usefulness of the devicee. The power outage in Ottawa last fall after a series of tornadoes and micro-bursts touched down illustrated how much we as a community rely on batteries and our mobile devices today. We lost power for approximately three days, and people were driving across the city to find somewhere that had power so they could connect their phone or laptop to charge — every Starbucks outlet was packed and there were queues to use outlets! It really was a huge eye-opener to how dependent we are as a society on our devices. Without batteries or power sources, the device renders useless… so figuring out ways to extend battery life, or finding alternative sources that are more efficient and last longer will prove to be very useful endeavours. Thanks for making us step back and reflect on some of the key building blocks in the devices that power our lives today!

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27 Mar1  Thumbs Up!kristie dewald

Hi Yannick. Thank you for bringing to my conscious attention something that now seems obvious, but that I hadn’t really thought about. Absolutely our computing power or ability to use all these amazing technologies is dependant on our ability to find power sources from time to time. I recently acquired a used iphone from a family member and the battery is unreliable. It drives me crazy (but not enough yet to get the battery replaced!). The need for power is also a noticeable problem with using laptops in classrooms, where many classes in universities have no or few power outlets to accommodate students that need to plug-in. I looked at your resource early on in my reviews and it stuck with me as I reviewed the other forecasts. All these proposed apps and uses of technology are great…as long as the user has their device charged and able to be used. I didn’t catch all the details of the various types of batteries, but all in all, I thought it was a very informative and useful presentation.

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