Today, more than ever, the future promises to be wireless. And among the promises of the technology industry, one of the advances that stands out the most is that of wireless charging systems. At the moment, this technology works through contact stations. However, it has not yet become a standard among smartphones.
Wireless charging technology, as it is now known, is still just an interesting feature of the devices and not as functional as we would like it to be. The reason for this lies mostly in how inconvenient charging stations are, their dimensions are too large to be practical.
However, everything could change thanks to the possibility of charging smartphones, tablets or smartwatches completely remotely. It seems that in the near future we will be able to have over-the-air wireless charging. This is a revolutionary charging technology where cables and charging docks are no longer necessary. Xiaomi and Motorola are the first to offer this feature.
Mi Air Charge, Xiaomi’s remote charging tech
Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi has made a leap the way smartphone’s wireless charging works with the presentation of its new Mi Air Charge technology. This is a remote wireless charging system that works through the ‘air’. This means that the phone doesn’t need to be connected to any cables or placed on a base or charging station.
As reported by Xiaomi, this technology works thanks to spatial positioning and power transmission. The manufacturer has created an isolated charging battery with five-phase jamming antennas. These have the ability to detect the location of the cell phone in the room very accurately.
The other key element in this system is a phase control matrix. This is a device made up of 144 antennas, whose job is to transmit the load directly to the devices via millimeter waves.
An important aspect of the new wireless charging technology proposed by Xiaomi is the power of over-the-air charging. As explained by the company, this is 5W and its range radius is several meters. In addition, the charging power is not diminished by physical obstacles.
As for the number of devices that can be charged at the same time with this technology, there is mixed information. Apparently, in its current state this technology could only charge one smartphone. However, the manufacturer points out that it will later be possible to charge several devices at the same time, each with a power of 5W.
Motorola also presents its proposal for wireless charging by ‘air’.
Xiaomi is not the only manufacturer that wants to improve wireless charging technology. Motorola has also presented a similar proposal to facilitate the functionality of this type of wireless charging.
The brand’s technology goes by the name Motorola One Hyper, and will also allow devices to be charged remotely through the air. Unlike Xiaomi, Motorola has not given many details about its system, but has released a video showing a prototype of the device that would transmit power.
What is known about Motorola One Hyper is that it will be able to operate at a distance of up to 1 meter. In addition, this technology has the particularity that the station pauses remote charging if someone places their hand in front of it. The reasons for this are not known. However, there is speculation that the design of the system could be a response to health issues.
When might this technology reach the market?
Wireless ‘air’ charging technology is very interesting and could certainly revolutionize current charging systems. However, at the moment these products, both Xiaomi’s and Motorola’s, are only prototypes. Therefore, they are not expected to be commercialized in the short term in the market.
Xiaomi’s proposal seems to be a more solid one than Motorola’s. But even so, the company has not talked about launching dates. However, it did want to make its intention clear with a real demonstration. In addition, it has been known that they have 17 patents for this technology in progress.
In the case of Motorola, the information has been vague. The manufacturer did not share too many details of the possible operation of its technology. The only certain information is that one of their executives made post asking users if they would like to see remote charging technology in the Edge series in the future.
There is a lot of expectation around this technology, users hope that it can be a reality sometime in the near future. However, one thing is certain, the system needs a lot of testing, including studies to analyze the possible negative effects it could have on people and animals.