Wirelessly charging your smartphone devices is definitely less of a hassle than plugging it in. But the device actually does work still needs to be a physical contact with its station. This is about to change now, that the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has approved the 1st wireless charger. It works from up to 3 feet away.
San Jose-based startup, Energous, announced on Tuesday that it was received the 1st such FCC certification for power-at-a-distance wireless charging with its WattUp midField transmitter. The transmitter converts electricity to radio frequencies, then beams the energy to nearby devices outfitted with a corresponding receiver. This differs from the resonant induction system that the Pi wireless charging system relies upon and provides a much greater range than the Belkin and Mophie chargers that need physical contact with the device.
The WattUp can charge multiple devices simultaneously and will work on any number of devices, of phones and tablets to keyboards and earbuds. So long as they are connected to the right receiver. What’s more, the WattUp ecosystem is manufacturer-agnostic — like WiFi — means that you can still be able to. For example, charge your Samsung phone even if the transmitter is made by Sony or Apple.
Although Energous doesn’t have any retail-ready devices available just yet. The company will plan to show off the latest technology at CES 2018. Which runs Jan 9th-12th in Las Vegas.
