Recently it was announced that the FCC had approved the first power-over-distance wireless charging system built by Energous that allowed users to wirelessly charge their device from a distance of up to 3 feet. However the only problem is that Energous’ system is not available to consumers, but that’s a gap that Powercast is hoping to fill.The company has recently announced that their power-over-distance transmitter has also been approved by the FCC and that they will be showing off a consumer-grade transmitter at CES 2018. The technology behind Powercast’s transmitter is more or less the same as what most power-over-distance systems use which involves the use of radio frequencies.
According to Powercast, “Creating a coverage area like Wi-Fi, a Powercast transmitter automatically charges enabled devices when within range. The transmitter uses the 915-MHz ISM band to send RF energy to a tiny Powercast receiver chip embedded in a device, which converts it to direct current (DC) to directly power or recharge that device’s batteries.”
Of course it will require that devices have the necessary components to receive the radio frequency, but that’s something the company has plans to make available to other companies looking to leverage its technology. Like we said, Powercast will be demonstrating its technology at CES 2018 with the prototype of the PowerSpot, along with a variety of gadgets such as game controllers, headphones, smartwatches, and more that can be wirelessly charged using it.
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