uBeam demonstrates ultrasound-based wireless charging
uBeam, a Silicon Valley wireless charging company, showed off its technology at the Upfront Summit in LA last week. The company has been shrouded in mystery and criticised for a lack of information and demonstrations of its technologies. At Upfront, CEO Meredith Perry held an Android smartphone in front of a white box emitting ultrasound waves, which subsequently began to charge the phone. While this exhibition showed the viability of uBeam's technology, it will be some time until it develops the small dish-shaped charger the company hopes to sell to consumers. 
uBeam is a bit of a mystery in Silicon Valley. The wireless charging company claims to have developed a way to charge electronic devices using ultrasonic waves, for truly cord-less charging regardless of what surface your smartphone is touching. The company has been criticized for avoiding detailed discussions and demonstrations of its technology, drawing comparisons to disgraced blood-testing company Theranos.

But yesterday, uBeam showed off its wireless charging tech at the Upfront Summit in Los Angeles. The demonstration was supposed to be “off the record,” which is a strange thing to tell a crowd of people with video cameras in their pockets. As you might suspect, various video of the demo are now floating around Twitter. Here’s a solid one shot by Zillow Group CEO Spencer Rascoff:

In the video, you can clearly see uBeam CEO Meredith Perry holding what appears to be an Android phone near some type of device and waiting momentarily before a charging symbol appears on the display. Of course, the goal is to shrink down that large box into a device consumers could purchase and keep in their homes.