<s>
SonicEnergy	B-Application
(	O
previously	O
uBeam	B-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
U.S.	O
company	O
that	O
claims	O
to	O
be	O
developing	O
a	O
wireless	B-Application
charging	I-Application
system	O
to	O
work	O
via	O
ultrasound	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
SonicEnergy	B-Application
was	O
founded	O
in	O
2011	O
by	O
Meredith	O
Perry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SonicEnergy	B-Application
won	O
University	O
of	O
Pennsylvania	O
's	O
invention	O
competition	O
,	O
PennVention	O
,	O
in	O
April	O
2011	O
,	O
and	O
demonstrated	O
the	O
first	O
prototype	O
of	O
the	O
technology	O
at	O
The	O
Wall	O
Street	O
Journal'''s	O
All	O
Things	O
Digital	O
Conference	O
,	O
D9	O
,	O
in	O
May	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SonicEnergy	B-Application
received	O
$26	O
million	O
in	O
investment	O
from	O
venture	O
capitalists	O
and	O
investors	O
including	O
Andreessen	O
Horowitz	O
,	O
Upfront	O
Ventures	O
,	O
Founders	O
Fund	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
billionaire	O
Mark	O
Cuban	O
and	O
former	O
Yahoo	B-Application
!	I-Application
</s>
<s>
By	O
2016	O
,	O
all	O
of	O
SonicEnergy	B-Application
's	O
original	O
engineering	O
team	O
had	O
left	O
the	O
company	O
,	O
with	O
some	O
engineers	O
leaving	O
before	O
their	O
stocks	O
had	O
vested	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Axios	O
reported	O
that	O
SonicEnergy	B-Application
privately	O
demonstrated	O
a	O
working	O
prototype	O
of	O
the	O
technology	O
at	O
the	O
Upfront	O
Summit	O
on	O
February	O
2	O
,	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SonicEnergy	B-Application
publicly	O
demonstrated	O
wirelessly	O
charging	O
several	O
iPhone	B-Application
7s	I-Application
,	O
Samsung	B-Application
Galaxy	I-Application
S7s	I-Application
,	O
and	O
LEDs	O
simultaneously	O
to	O
USA	O
Today''	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
same	O
announcement	O
,	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
the	O
company	O
was	O
changed	O
from	O
uBeam	B-Application
to	O
SonicEnergy	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
SonicEnergy	B-Application
's	O
system	O
would	O
transmit	O
ultrasound	B-Application
at	O
frequencies	O
between	O
45kHz	O
and	O
75kHz	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
sound	O
intensity	O
of	O
145dB	O
to	O
155dB	O
SPL	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
would	O
use	O
a	O
phased	O
array	O
technique	O
to	O
direct	O
the	O
beam	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
observers	O
have	O
been	O
critical	O
of	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
ultrasound	B-Application
technology	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
SonicEnergy	B-Application
's	O
claims	O
are	O
unlikely	O
to	O
be	O
achievable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critics	O
have	O
also	O
cited	O
problems	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
difficulty	O
of	O
achieving	O
high	O
efficiency	O
in	O
sound	O
transfer	O
,	O
achieving	O
an	O
unobstructed	O
path	O
for	O
the	O
beam	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
high	O
absorption	O
of	O
high	O
frequency	O
ultrasound	B-Application
in	O
air	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Australian	O
electrical	O
engineer	O
and	O
blogger	O
Dave	O
Jones	O
has	O
been	O
a	O
frequent	O
critic	O
of	O
SonicEnergy	B-Application
,	O
stating	O
it	O
"	O
will	O
NEVER	O
be	O
a	O
practical	O
solution	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
has	O
offered	O
detailed	O
explanations	O
on	O
why	O
"	O
it	O
will	O
never	O
work.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2016	O
,	O
former	O
uBeam	B-Application
engineering	O
VP	O
Paul	O
Reynolds	O
wrote	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
blog	O
posts	O
stating	O
that	O
uBeam	B-Application
’s	O
technology	O
did	O
not	O
work	O
,	O
saying	O
that	O
"	O
While	O
in	O
theory	O
 [ uBeam ] 	O
may	O
be	O
possible	O
in	O
limited	O
cases	O
,	O
the	O
safety	O
,	O
efficiency	O
,	O
and	O
economics	O
of	O
it	O
mean	O
it	O
is	O
not	O
even	O
remotely	O
practical.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
some	O
former	O
uBeam	B-Application
engineers	O
,	O
the	O
technology	O
would	O
at	O
best	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
supply	O
a	O
"	O
trickle	O
charge	O
"	O
to	O
a	O
cell	O
phone	O
,	O
transmitting	O
a	O
few	O
watts	O
of	O
power	O
over	O
one	O
or	O
two	O
meters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ultrasound	B-Application
energy	O
has	O
the	O
potential	O
to	O
produce	O
biological	O
effects	O
on	O
the	O
body	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ultrasound	B-Application
waves	O
can	O
heat	O
the	O
tissues	O
slightly	O
.	O
</s>
