Power Takes Flight: Is wireless power transmission in our future?

Many years ago, I predicted that Dallas-based Vari-Lite, the moving light manufacturer, would be bought by Dallas-based Southwest Airlines and that they would develop self-flying moving lights. So far, this hasn’t come true, and I’m starting to think it might not happen.

One of the biggest challenges in powering stages with batteries is managing the state of charge. Wireless power transmission could be the next breakthrough.

I was thinking about it again recently because a question was posed in preparation for an event in which I was invited to speak, called “Backstage Passes” in Austin, hosted by Olden Lighting. The question was, “How has the lighting industry changed since you started, and where is it headed next?”

The answer to the first part of the question is easy. LEDs have easily been the single biggest game changer since I got into the lighting industry in 1886 (give or take 100 years), followed, in the far distance, by pixel mapping and networking. The second part of the question is a bit harder. I have ideas about where the industry is headed, and they don’t involve flying fixtures…

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