Aircharge installed wireless charging in the Eurostar Business Premier lounge at Paris Gare du Nord train station, it announced Wednesday. The installation comprises 34 wireless surface chargers on long tables and coffee tables, it said. Smartphones without built-in wireless charging receivers can be charged via a multihead connector that's Qi- and Made for iPhone-certified, the company said. Aircharge claims 4,500 public wireless charging locations in European restaurants, cafes, shops, lounges and hotels.
Logitech’s new gaming mouse uses a wireless charging system that “reinvents” wireless charging, said the company in a Monday announcement. The Logitech G Powerplay system provides continuous charging during game play and while at rest, eliminating the need for users to dock or park a mouse to recharge, said the company. Powerplay uses electromagnetic resonance that creates an energy field above its 10.5 x 12.5-inch surface to deliver wireless power without interfering with the precise tracking and data transmission capabilities of high-performance gaming mice, Logitech said. The energy field is captured and transformed into charging current by a module that attaches magnetically to compatible wireless gaming mice such as the Logitech G903 ($149) and G703 ($99), it said. Powerplay ($99) is due in stores in August, and the mice will be available this month, said the company.
AirFuel Alliance members Microtips Technology, JJPlus and NewVastek are demonstrating resonant-based wireless charging at Computex this week, said a Tuesday alliance announcement. In addition to a booth demo, Microtips is showcasing its wireless charging ecosystem and kiosk in a working coffee shop installation, said the alliance. JJPlus is showing a wireless receiver and a transmitter capable of charging through 5-centimeter-thick tables made of wood, marble or glass, the alliance said, and NewVastek is showing AirFuel power transmitter units and power receiver units in a startup section of the trade show. In addition, notebook PC and smart device maker Compal Electronics joined the AirFuel Alliance, it said.
Energous expanded on configurations of its WattUp RF wireless charging technology, in a Friday email response to our questions on how WattUp could be implemented in wearables. One example would be a fitness tracker or smartwatch that could be charged while a user is wearing the device, a company spokeswoman told us. A transmitter could be incorporated into the bezel of a computer monitor or desk and charge the tracker at a distance, she said. On the different use cases for near-, mid- and far-field transmitters in WattUp technology, the spokeswoman said a near-field transmitter provides an “in-box solution” to replace a traditional wired plug that comes with electronic devices. The same device also could be charged from a mid- or far-field transmitter, a benefit of the flexible WattUp ecosystem, she said. A customer who orders a WattUp-enabled fitness tracker, for instance, would receive a fast-charge, contact-based near-field transmitter in the box along with the tracker. If the customer also has a WattUp-enabled sound bar, the transmitter inside the sound bar could charge the tracker from 2 to 3 feet away, the spokeswoman said. A graphic on the Energous website shows a living room with numerous installation options for transmitters: inside a mobile device, TV, LED candle, remote control, game console, toy or headphones, along with walls and ceilings. Multiple transmitters linked together in a meshed network allow for extended coverage, Energous says. Both the mid-field and far-field designs are software-controllable, allowing multiple devices to charge simultaneously at different levels, said the company. Initial “significant quantities” of WattUp chipsets are expected to be available from Dialog Semiconductor, which invested $10 million in Energous last fall, by the end of Q2, said Energous last week on an earnings call (see 1705110035).
Powermat is developing an “adaptation plan” for compatibility with Apple wireless charging technology, it said in a Monday announcement. Noting Apple’s recent membership in the Wireless Power Consortium (see 1702130033), Powermat said it would be “ready to support iPhones with whatever wireless charging protocol Apple employs,” as Apple can bring wireless charging “into the mainstream.” Regardless of which standard Apple adopts “or whether they’ll develop their own proprietary technology," Powermat believes the category is "big enough for everyone to play," said CEO Elad Dubzinski. The Powermat platform is capable of supporting multiple protocols, and its inductive wireless charging technology is installed in Starbucks stores across the U.S. and abroad, said the company. Powermat, which lists Duracell and AT&T as partners, is also installed in over a million General Motors vehicles and 250 million mobile devices, it said. Numerous reports have suggested upcoming iPhones will feature wireless charging capability. Apple didn't comment Monday. The company joined the Wireless Power Consortium, which backs inductive charging, but it's not a member of the AirFuel Alliance, which supports multiple types of wireless charging, including inductive. Powermat, meanwhile, is an AirFuel member, along with Samsung, LG, Qualcomm, Motorola, Intel, Bose, Delphi, Foxconn and many others.
The AirFuel Alliance added 10 members, including Huawei and Bose, and announced products with inductive and resonant wireless charging, in a Wednesday news release. LG’s G6 smartphone, announced at Mobile World Congress, has support for AirFuel’s PMA technology, enabling users to charge wirelessly at home and at public venues such as Starbucks, said the alliance. Gill Electronics unveiled infrastructure charging based on the AirFuel resonant spec that will be part of office furniture from Kimball Office. Kimball will offer the Jolt wireless charging using Gill’s transmitter in desks, cabinets and tables, said AirFuel. OFS Brands is using Gill’s resonant transmitter in an integrated wireless power solution, the alliance said. Enabling multiple devices to be charged from a single unit at longer distances from the transmitter creates a “true furniture integrated” solution that doesn’t require drilling holes into a tabletop, the alliance said. Meanwhile, Chargifi announced an IoT platform based on the AirFuel specification that enables manufacturers, managed service providers and venues to offer wireless power as a service, it said. The platform deploys, monitors and monetizes wireless power, while reporting vitals and usage metrics on charging hot spots in real time. The platform has self-healing technology that’s said to be able to fix transmitters remotely before customers are aware of a problem. Calling 2017 a “watershed year” for wireless charging, AirFuel Alliance President Ron Resnick forecast “significant adoption” of resonant wireless charging and introduction of RF technology. Resonant wireless charging products have been slow to come to market after Qualcomm, Samsung and others founded AirFuel’s predecessor, the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) in 2012 for resonant charging (see 1205080067). A4WP merged with the Power Matters Alliance in 2015, bringing inductive and resonant wireless power technology under the same umbrella (see 1501060013) and extended the reach to RF and "all wireless charging technologies" later in 2015 (see 1511040023). AirFuel members are working to create an ecosystem supporting widespread adoption of wireless charging “based upon best use case,” Resnick said. Other new members are GaN Systems, GenGee, MetaBoards, Motorola Solutions, Redpine Signals, Shenzhen Hongsheng and Zonecharge.
A team out of the Columbia University Startup Lab launched an Indiegogo campaign Thursday for a patent-pending wireless charger that promises wireless charging without tethering. Called the MotherBox, the large, multisided 6 x 6 x 6-inch unit can charge up to four devices simultaneously via an app, said developer Yank Technologies, and the smaller 3.5 x 3.5 x. 3.5-inch MotherBox Mini can charge one or two devices at once. No point-to-point contact is required with the chargers, unlike Qi chargers. Instead, the unit requires a thin receiver membrane that installs between the phone and the phone case and plugs into the charging port. Users can opt for push notifications that signal a low battery, said Yank. MotherBox is based on magnetic resonance charging technology, making the MotherBoxes compatible with AirFuel resonant receivers. They're not compatible with Qi receivers that use inductive technology, said a FAQ section on the Indiegogo page, but phones with built-in Qi receivers can be charged with a MotherBox receiver, it said. The charging range becomes more sensitive to perpendicular alignment the farther the phone is placed from the unit, Yank said. Charging power ranges are given as 4-5 watts at under 5 inches and 1 watt at 10 inches for the portable MotherBox Mini that includes a rechargeable battery. The MotherBox, which connects to an AC outlet, charges at 10 watts at a distance up to 5 inches and at 2 watts (USB 2.0 speed) at 15-20 inches, it said. MotherBox works with Android phones and iPhones, Yank said. Early bird pricing for the MotherBox is $79, plus shipping, for the transmitting unit, receiver and USB cable, with a September target shipping date, and $89 for the Mini. Extra receivers are $12. The campaign had raised $7,060 from 45 backers toward a goal of $25,000 Thursday afternoon.
Wearables could offer an opportunity for wireless power company Powercast, which has been supplying FCC-certified power transmitters, chips and modules to the industrial market for 14 years, Jason Gill, electrical engineer, told us at the company’s CES booth. The company showcased its technology, along with a development kit, with keyboards, sensors, clothing, key fobs and a smartwatch, looking to sign wearables makers looking for radio-frequency-based wireless charging. Most devices using the company’s Powerharvester chip charge at distances of 1-3 feet, said Gill. Powercast doesn’t have designs on RF charging for smartphones or PCs, he said, calling RF charging for higher-power devices “not practical.”
Over-the-air wireless charging technology company Energous said in a Wednesday announcement its WattUp technology will be unveiled in new products by five CE partners and a medical device company at CES. Other companies will make similar introductions in coming months, it said, as Energous looks to build the WattUp ecosystem that will “fundamentally change how people charge many different electronics.” Scalable WattUp receiver technology can be charged by small, contact-based portable transmitters to “forthcoming” larger transmitters that charge at distances up to 15 feet, said the company. Charging experiences are possible in homes, offices and cars, it said. CE products launching at CES with WattUp technology include the Chipolo Plus Gen 2 Bluetooth tracker that lets users track items such as a wallet, luggage, keys and phone; the Chipolo Sticker tracking device; the Peri MicroPack rapid charger; SK Telesys’ hearing aid and smart ID card; and Tactual Labs’ Prism touch pen. Sejin Electronics will show a universal miniature WattUp transmitter at Energous’ suite at the Hard Rock Hotel.
Over-the-air wireless charging technology company Energous is getting a $5 million investment from telecom carrier JT Group. JT will be the preferred backhaul and cloud connectivity partner for IoT customers adopting Energous’ WattUp technology, said the companies Tuesday. Energous is showcasing WattUp technology at its suite at the Hard Rock Hotel during CES here in Las Vegas.