Answer: While an exciting technology, wireless power transfer faces significant challenges, particularly for long-distance and high-power applications. Key limitations include:

• Efficiency and power loss: For long distances, power transfer efficiency drops significantly. As the distance between the transmitter and receiver increases, the electromagnetic fields weaken, leading to substantial energy loss. This is why current applications are mostly limited to short-range charging.

• Beam diffraction and alignment: For far-field methods like microwave beaming, the energy beam can diffract (spread out) as it travels, reducing the amount of power that reaches the receiver. Maintaining precise alignment between the transmitter and receiver over long distances is also a major technical hurdle.

• Safety and regulations: The long-term biological effects of exposure to powerful electromagnetic fields are a concern. Safety standards and regulations, such as those related to specific absorption rate (SAR), must be established and followed to ensure public safety.

• Cost and infrastructure: The initial cost of developing and deploying large-scale wireless power infrastructure is currently very high. This includes the cost of powerful transmitters, large receiving antennas, and control systems.