Hyper by Sanho introduced a dual wireless charging stand for the iPhone 12 and AirPods' wireless charging case. The MagSafe-compatible HyperJuice ($59) powers both devices simultaneously at 7.5 watts for the iPhone 12 and 3 watts for the AirPods with 20 watts of USB-C input, said the company.
GuRu Wireless CEO Florian Bohn spoke with an aide to acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on a waiver request for its wireless power transfer (WPT) technology (see 2101220018). The waiver “would benefit both" WPT "and other American industries, as it would provide real life use information to help form Commission policy, and would not preclude other applications or users,” said Tuesday's posting in docket 19-83.
Energous said Wednesday its WattUp wireless charging technology is being used in a sensor for horses that’s expected to reach the market in Q1. The American Equus EQx VitalsSensor, targeted to the professional horse racing market, monitors and tracks horses’ vital statistics, such as temperature, heart rate and leg position, the companies said. Also in the wireless power market, Powercast said Tuesday it will highlight a wireless charging grip for Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controllers during CES 2021. The company shipped RF power products for over 10 new industries last year, including sensors, automotive, retail, CE and entertainment. The wireless power market is expected to reach $29.23 billion by 2027, it said.
European electric scooter company Voi Technology is testing wireless charging technology with Bumblebee Power for e-scooters and e-bikes. The companies hope to develop plans to deploy charging pads in cities. Their first project addresses how electric transmitter pads can alleviate cities' infrastructure challenges in implementing easy-to-maintain electric charging hubs. Bumblebee’s thin, printed circuit-board-based coil and control unit, connected to the grid, can be mounted to a parking area surface, where it transfers power wirelessly to a receiver coil and charger unit on a scooter placed a few inches above. Potential benefits of the technology include the ability to keep a scooter fleet active on the road longer; charging efficiency equivalent to wired charging; a reduced need to transport scooters to and from warehouses; the ability to have e-scooter operations in more remote areas; and incentive for users to park e-scooters in designated areas, they said. By 2030, the shared electric micro-mobility market is expected to spend more than $187 million on battery charging, they said.
Gokhale Method received FCC approval for its PostureTracker, a wearable sensor designed to alleviate back pain. The tracker, which comes with a wireless charging pad based on Energous’ WattUp charging technology, is expected to ship in Q1, Energous announced Tuesday. The two sensors charge simultaneously on the pad.
WiTricity licensed its wireless charging technology to Delta Electronics, it said Thursday. WiTricity’s wireless charging technology enables hands-free and connector-free automatic charging without human intervention or physical docking. Delta plans to build and sell wireless charging systems for automatic guided vehicles, mobile robots and electric forklift trucks.
Eartechnic tapped Energous’ WattUp wireless charging technology for its upcoming hearing device, Tie-X, said Energous Tuesday. Replacing hearing aid batteries is difficult for many users; being able to wirelessly charge the devices delivers peace of mind, said the company. Energous’ charging eliminates the need to replace batteries and enables hermetically sealed designs, said CEO Stephen Rizzone. Eartechnic didn’t respond to questions.
Belkin bowed chargers and screen protectors for the iPhone 12 smartphones. The Boost Charge Pro wireless charger ($150, winter) has MagSafe technology with magnets around a Qi wireless charging coil that allow accessories and wireless chargers to align and stay connected to an iPhone 12. It delivers 15 watts wireless charging power to an iPhone, 5 watts to AirPods in their case on a MagSafe stand and 5 watts to a charging module for Apple Watch, said Belkin Wednesday. A MagSafe car charger, which attaches to a vehicle vent, is due in winter at $40. A screen protector with filters to prevent off-side viewing, starts at $40.
Google’s Pixel 5 is the latest smartphone to employ reverse wireless charging, allowing the phone to serve as a no-wire power bank for Qi-based low-power devices. A photo at Google Store shows a Pixel Buds case piggybacking on top of the 5G Pixel, available for preorder and due this month. Use of the Battery Share feature “significantly reduces Pixel battery life,” Google said, and cases can interfere with charging and reduce charging speed. When a Pixel phone is plugged in and charging, Battery Share turns on automatically for a short period; if the Pixel 5 phone doesn’t sense another device using its power during that time, it turns off, said the company.
A Class II permissive change to Energous’ existing MS-550 FCC grant lets the company and its partners develop and market products that can be charged wirelessly within 1 meter of the transmitter, said the company Wednesday. The change allows expansion of Energous’ non-beamforming wireless charging technology, announced earlier this year, it said, adding it’s the first time a non-beamforming transmitter has been permitted with a charging zone of up to 1 meter under Part 18 guidelines. This broadens wireless power transfer applications that can be supported by the technology, “a less costly, less complicated path to commercialization,” said CEO Stephen Rizzone. The company continues to support its beamforming technology, he said. The pandemic “temporarily impacted” Energous’ ability to send engineering and application resources to customer sites, “slowing the advance of multiple product and sales cycles” that were expected to generate Q3 revenue, said Rizzone. He called the disruption a “delay.” Energous expects its WattUp-enabled products to be in commercial markets before year-end. “Over-the-air wireless charging has the potential to fundamentally change how we interact with everyday devices,” said Omdia analyst Dinesh Kithany. The research firm estimates 2 billion wireless power products will be shipped 2020-29.