InductivePower
Latest
Duracell Powermat WiCC could bring wireless charging to any smartphone, we go hands-on (video)
Powermat may have a bright future, but the company's products to date have been expensive, slightly clunky and a generally imperfect solution for bringing wireless power to mobile devices. That could all change with WiCC. The Wireless Charging Card (WiCC) is an IEEE Power Matters Alliance (PMA) standard, with the potential to integrate Duracell Powermat technology within every mobile gadget. The incredibly thin device resembles those wafer-like SmartMedia cards once used in early digital cameras, with a similar form factor, but significantly more practicality. Each WiCC includes all the PowerMat circuitry found in the company's charging cases, while also doubling as an NFC antenna. The card's success is of course contingent on cooperation from device manufacturers, who will need to add a slim connector above the battery leads, including two for power, two for NFC and two for data -- an app will monitor charging. Powermat reps say that such a connector would cost pennies to implement, however, making it a potentially easy sell.Powermat President Daniel Schreiber sees this as a major breakthrough for the smartphone industry, saying "we're going to do for wireless power what the memory card did for storage in mobile phones." We had a chance to take a look at a mock-up of the wireless card at MWC, which was resting just above the battery in a Samsung Galaxy S II. Because the phone's battery is slightly recessed, both the card and battery fit below the device's original backplate -- the WiCC lies flush with the phone's camera lens. Overall, we think there's some serious potential here, assuming device manufacturers are game to come on board. Still, don't expect to see these hitting stores anytime this year -- the company expects its other products to come to market long before the Wireless Charging Card. So for now, jump past the break to take a closer look, but don't make any plans to toss that power adapter just yet.
Nissan Leaf to get inductive charging, lose its stem in 2013 (video)
Nissan has big plans for the still-budding Leaf. The Japanese automaker lit up its impressive Leaf-powered Smart House at the Tokyo Motor Show last week, but also demoed its wireless charging solution for a much smaller crowd at the company's Oppama factory. The device uses electromagnetic induction to transfer power between a charging pad and a receiver on the bottom of the car, with an efficiency level between 80 and 90 percent -- simply park your EV directly above the system to begin charging, and monitor progress on the ground transmission unit's control panel. The pad is expected to become available as soon as 2013, but will only be compatible with new vehicles, so you won't be able to use it with an older Leaf, unfortunately. There's a silent demo video waiting for you just past the break.
Panasonic Chargepad wirelessly juices up mobile chargers, nothing else
We've seen plenty of wireless charging solutions that employ inductive power and other technologies to charge devices directly (heck, your next car may even have a Powermat in its console), but Panasonic's Chargepad may be the first such product to charge, well, other chargers, rather than gadgets themselves. At launch, the Chargepad will only be compatible with two models, the QE-PL101-W and QE-PL201-W, which you can use to juice up cell phones and other USB-compatible devices on the go. We'd love to see the company embedding inductive charging components in its cameras and other devices instead, but if you're an early adopter who happens to live in Japan, then you can expect to pay between $110-130 (open pricing, depending on battery capacity) for the Chargepad and a mobile charger when these hit stores on June 24. Update: As reader SegueToNowhere points out, the Chargepad has a Qi logo, meaning it should work with your favorite Qi devices.
Fulton Innovation shows off mid-range eCoupled wireless power
Fulton Innovation has made some fairly impressive demonstrations of its eCoupled wireless power technology (along with a few less than impressive ones), but most of those have left little space between the power source and the device being powered. As you can see above, however, that's now changed in pretty a big way, with Fulton taking to YouTube to show off a new mid-range inductive power system. While it's obviously not quite ready for home use, this slightly unnerving contraption does indeed appear to work as promised, with it able to power a 12 watt lamp at a distance of 35 inches, or light up an LED at various points in between. Head on past the break to check it out this bit of black magic for yourself. [Thanks, Brandon]
