Transmitting power wirelessly to anyone anywhere was one of Nikola Tesla’s dreams. Unfortunately, he hasn’t lived his dream to come true – power goes from the point of its generation to the consuming devices through wires that permeate the world as we know it. But if he was alive today, he would see his idea come one step closer to reality thanks to Energous Corporation, the company behind WattUp, the new wireless charging standard that has just become certified by the FCC (the Federal Communications Commission of the USA).
Wireless power?
Wireless charging has been among the features of certain smartphones for years – Qi is the current winning standard with big names like Samsung, Apple, and many others rallying behind it. But Qi has one major shortcoming: the short distance it can transmit power to. Qi-enabled devices have to be within 1.6 inches (4 cm) from the transmitter to be able to charge and sit on the charging pad in the right position for the charging to be uninterrupted. This is inconvenient for many, especially since the phone can’t be used while it is charging.
But with WattUp, things change significantly. As it doesn’t limit itself to a distance as short as Qi, you will be able to charge your smartphone while you enjoy awesome real money online casino games anytime, play with your console controller while never running out of juice, and keep all your battery-powered devices – smartwatches, tablet computers, VR headsets, even laptops – fully charged at all time, without the need of wires of any kind.
Distance is the key
As I said before, Qi has a limit of 1.6 inches when it comes to wirelessly charging a device. WattUp comes in three versions – Near Field, Mid Field, and Far Field. Near Field works at a distance of up to about 4 inches, Mid Field (the one approved by the FCC) works up to 3 feet (almost 1 meter), while Far Field will work at a distance of up to 15 feet (over 4.5 meters). With several of the latter placed in the right places around your home, you will be able to keep all your devices fully charged at all times simply by leaving them there – with no pads, no cables, no hassle.
More details about the technology can be found at the Energous website.
When will it become available?
Energous plans to present this new technology at the CES 2018, taking place in January in Las Vegas. Right now, it is the only company backing the new standard as opposed to the more than 200 brands backing Qi. But given the properties of the new standard, it has all chances to become at least an optional feature in many fields – and maybe even the dominant standard on the wireless charging market.
