The Invention Science Fund I LLC

Elwha LLC

Searete LLC

Tokitae LLC

Jeffrey A Bowers

Roderick A Hyde

Lowell L Wood, Jr

Clarence T Tegreene

Jordin T Kare

David R Smith

Edward K Y Jung

Muriel Y Ishikawa

John Brian Pendry

Charles Whitmer

Nathan P Myhrvold

David Schurig

Thomas A Weaver

Nathan Kundtz

Eric Leuthardt

Victoria Y H Wood

Alistair K Chan

Elizabeth A Sweeney

Geoffrey Frank Deane

Peter L Hagelstein

Dennis James Rivet, Ii

David Bazeley Tuckerman

Russell J Hannigan

Kenneth G Caldeira

Bruce Marshall McWilliams

Richard Neil Zare

Thomas J Nugent, Jr

Stephen Hugh Salter

Guy Shlomo Lipworth

John Latham

Tatsushi Toyokuni

Michael A Smith

William David Duncan

Daniel Hawkins

Paul Duesterhoft

William Henry Gates, Iii

Tom Driscoll

Ruopeng Liu

Matthew Stephen Reynolds

Willard Harvey Wattenburg

Daniel Arnitz

Joseph Hagerty

David R Nash

Anthony F Starr

Daniel A Roberts

Yaroslav Aleksandrovich Urzhumov

David Brady

John Desmond Hunt

Nathan Ingle Landy

Philip A Sullivan

Alexander Mrozack

Paul G Allen

Lawrence Frederick Arnstein

Bran Ferren

W Daniel Hillis

Tony S Pan

Gary L McKnight

Conor L Myhrvold

Cameron A Myhrvold

Joseph A Hagerty

Systems and methods are described herein for providing wireless power to a mobile device, such as an aerial mobile device like an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). A navigational constraint model may prescribe a navigation path along which a wireless power transmission system can provide wireless power to the mobile device. Deviations from the prescribed path may require the mobile device to self-power. The prescription of a navigation path allows for the use of reduced-complexity wireless power transmitters that are fully capable of servicing the prescribed path. Multiple embodiments of prescribed paths with various limitations and features are set forth herein, along with multiple embodiments of wireless power transmission systems of reduced complexity and functionality to fully service the various embodiments of prescribed paths.

Wireless power transfer along a prescribed path

System and methods are described herein for providing wireless power to a target device, such as a laptop computer, a mobile phone, a vehicle, robot, or an unmanned aerial vehicle or system (UAV) or (UAS). A tunable multi-element transmitter may transmit electromagnetic radiation (EMR) to the target device using any of a wide variety of frequency bands. A location determination subsystem and/or range determination subsystem may determine a relative location, orientation, and/or rotation of the target device. For a target device within a distance range for which a smallest achievable waist of the Gaussian beam of the EMR at an operational frequency is smaller than the multi-element EMR receiver of the target device, a non-Gaussian beamform may be determined to increase efficiency, decrease overheating, reduce spillover, increase total power output of rectenna receivers on the target device, or achieve another target power delivery goal.

Non-Gaussian beamforming for wireless power transfer optimization

Systems and methods are provided for various tunable multi-timescale wireless rectification systems. Tunable multi-timescale wireless rectification systems may include multiple feedback control loops, systems, or sub-systems that modify characteristics of components of a wireless rectification system on various timescales. A wireless rectification system may include antennas, impedance-matching components, rectifying devices, DC-to-DC converters, and/or load controllers. Two or more feedback controls may function on different timescales to modify one or more characteristics or functionalities of components of the wireless rectification system in response to monitored AC and/or DC power values at various locations within the wireless rectification system. Feedback controls operating on various timescales may include antenna feedback controls, impedance feedback controls, rectifying feedback controls, and/or DC feedback controls.

Dynamic rectifier circuits with multiple-order timescale feedback controls

The present disclosure provides systems and methods associated with acoustic transmitters, receivers, and antennas. Specifically, the present disclosure provides a transducer system for transmitting and receiving acoustic energy according to a determined acoustic emission/reception pattern. In various embodiments, an acoustic transducer system may include an array of sub-wavelength transducer elements each configured with an electromagnetic resonance at one of a plurality of electromagnetic frequencies. Each sub-wavelength transducer element may generate an acoustic emission in response to the electromagnetic resonance. A beam-forming controller may cause electromagnetic energy to be transmitted at select electromagnetic frequencies to cause a select subset of the sub-wavelength transducer elements to generate acoustic emissions according to a selectable acoustic transmission pattern. A common port may facilitate electromagnetic communication with each of the sub-wavelength transducer elements.

Steerable acoustic resonating transducer systems and methods

Methods and systems for monitoring compliance of a patient with a prescribed treatment regimen are described. Patient activity is detected unobtrusively with an activity sensor at the patient location, and activity data is transmitted to a monitoring location. Patient speech detected during use of a communication system such as a mobile telephone by the patient may also be used as an activity signal. Patient activity and/or speech is processed at the patient location or monitoring location to identify activity parameters or patterns that indicate whether the patient has complied with the prescribed treatment regimen. The activity sensor and other components at the patient location may be incorporated into, or associated with, a cell phone, computing system, game system, or vehicle system, for example. The system may provide a report to an interested party, for example a medical care provider or insurance company, regarding patient compliance with the prescribed treatment regimen.

Monitoring treatment compliance using patient activity patterns

A method of pumping an optical resonator includes directing light generated by a pumping light at the optical resonator, exciting a propagating surface state of the optical resonator at an interface of the optical resonator, and changing a propagating frequency of the light proximate the interface, where the changed frequency corresponds to a propagation frequency of the surface state. The optical resonator includes a photonic crystal and a material, where the interface is formed between the photonic crystal and the material.

Method and system for pumping of an optical resonator

A vehicle may be configured to determine a characteristic of a software program operating on the vehicle. The characteristic may be provided to an insurer, and the insurer may determine a property of an insurance policy based on the characteristic. The characteristic may be, for example, a feature, a setting, and/or a version of the software program. The insurer may indicate to a vehicle operator and/or owner how changing the characteristic may affect the property of the insurance policy. The insurance policy may be formalized and agreed to by the insurer and/or the insured. The vehicle may also or instead save pre-collision status data, such adjustable parameters, internal variables, dynamic decisions, and/or identification of a software program, when a collision is detected. The pre-collision status data may be used to diagnose problems with the software program, determine fault, and/or determine future properties of insurance policies.

Systems and methods for insurance based upon status of vehicle software

A system for generating, forming and receiving electromagnetic transmissions according to a dynamically selectable electromagnetic pattern, beam pattern or beam form can use a selectably altered backplane structure. A spatially dependent pattern of amplitudes and/or phases can be formed by selecting a state of the selectably altered backplane structure from a set of states. The altered backplane structure can include a movable mechanical structure that causes a set of patterns of spatially dependent amplitudes of electromagnetic energy depending on a position of the structure. A beam pattern from a set of beam patterns can be selected by selecting a state (e.g., the position) of the backplane structure that creates a set of spatially dependent amplitudes of electromagnetic energy.

Systems, methods and devices for mechanically producing patterns of electromagnetic energy

An automatically adjustable radiofrequency link system includes a radiofrequency transmitter configured to transmit a signal at a frequency of transmission within an extremely high frequency (EHF) band. The system further includes a receiving device configured to receive the transmitted signal and provide feedback to a processing circuit communicatively coupled to the transmitter and the receiving device, wherein the feedback is related to the received signal. The processing circuit is configured to determine required signal properties based on the feedback and determine signal loss properties including an effect of atmospheric absorption, as a function of frequency; determine a modification to the transmitted signal using the signal loss properties and the required signal properties; and adjust the frequency of transmission to obtain a desired transmission signal using the modification.

Automatically adjustable radiofrequency link

A thermal sensing device can include an electromagnetic radiation source configured to generate electromagnetic radiation, a first antenna configured to direct electromagnetic radiation generated by the radiation source toward a target, and a second antenna configured to receive microwave radiation emitted from an internal portion of the target. The thermal sensing device can also include a microwave sensor coupled to the second antenna and configured to acquire sensor data regarding the microwave radiation emitted from an internal portion of the target. A processing device, included in the thermal sensing device, can be configured to produce thermal data based on the sensor data.

Systems and methods for microwave sensing of object properties

Systems and methods for self-testing archival memory devices are described. The memory device includes a data storage component capable of being coded with data. The memory device further includes a read-write mechanism configured to read, write, and delete data stored on the data storage component. The memory device includes a read-write controller configured to control the read-write mechanism based on input received through a device interface of the memory device, wherein the device interface of the memory device is configured to connect to an external computing device. The memory device further includes a diagnostic controller configured to perform a test on at least one of the data stored on the data storage component, the data storage component, and the read-write mechanism. The memory device includes a power source configured to provide operational power to the diagnostic controller when the memory device is not connected to an external power source.

Self-testing data storage devices and methods

A surface scattering reflector antenna includes a plurality of adjustable scattering elements and is configured to produce a reflected beam pattern according to the configuration of the adjustable scattering elements.

Surface scattering reflector antenna

An array of scattering and/or reflector antennas are configured to produce a series of beam patterns, where in some embodiments the scattering antenna and/or the reflector antenna includes complementary metamaterial elements. In some embodiments circuitry may be configured to set a series of conditions corresponding to the array to produce the series of beam patterns, and to produce an image of an object that is illuminated by the series of beam patterns.

Methods and apparatus for controlling a surface scattering antenna array

Growing community of inventors

Kirkland, WA, United States of America

Jeffrey A Bowers