Motorola has announced a partnership with over-the-air power solutions company GuRuWireless for testing smartphone charging over the air. According to companies, the manufacturer's next devices may arrive with wireless charging power of up to one meter between the cell phone and the power base.
The new technology should allow Motorola to charge smartphones remotely using waves, without the need for a cable or charging base connected to the device. The project, which is proprietary to GuRu, is based on a system in which an emitting device directs energy to the device.
According to Dan Dery, Motorola's vice president of products, the idea is for people to have these charging stations in various places, such as rooms in their homes and even at work. This way, when they enter a room, their smartphone will identify the transmitter and automatically charge the battery. Apparently, the project is still in its early stages and is not expected to reach the public anytime soon.
How does air charging technology work?
Charge smartphones without the need for a cable became something common in recent years. Several companies have models with wireless charging option, as long as these devices are in contact with an energy-emitting base.
Charging over the air is based on a technology that is older than cell phones themselves. It is the Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) concept, created by Nikola Tesla at the beginning of the 20th century.
The inventor dreamed of creating transmitting towers that would be equipped with the so-called Tesla coil, a device capable of transmitting energy through waves to devices. However, this phenomenon, called “electrodynamic induction,” had a problem in its design: the dispersion of energy to the receiving device.
It took years for the process to be adapted in a viable way for large-scale reproduction. In 2008, IBM successfully tested remote-powered light bulbs, while Nintendo even produced a charger for Nintendo Wii controllers that didn’t require connectors. More recently, a New Zealand energy company began studies for the use of technology in the supply of energy to cities.
How GuRu Wireless technology works
According to GuRu, the charging process used in Motorola smartphones is, in theory, simpler and faster than supplying power to a city. The base of the receiver must contain an adapted model of the Tesla coil that will transmit the waves to the devices.
To ensure that there is no excess energy dispersion, GuRu has created a proprietary system of receivers based on receivers that direct where the energy will be emitted. Although the waves are harmless, in addition to optimizing charging, the device also ensures that no other object or individual will be affected by the emitted waves.
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