We love and are so attached to our devices – smartphones, fitness bands, wearables, gaming systems, smart home gadgets and more.
They are meant to educate, entertain and generally enrich our lives, but not without the cost of having to constantly stress about battery levels or charging needs. While this annoyance is often overlooked as an unavoidable part of modern life, it’s yet another thing we have to think about in the midst of our daily routines.
Energous Corporation has been working on a technology that delivers over-the-air wireless charging for several years now. About a month ago, Energous achieved an incredible milestone and announced Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval for its WattUp over-the-air wireless charging technology of small electronics. This exciting accomplishment garnered national media attention:
- USA Today: “Wireless recharging for devices gets FCC approval”
- Bloomberg: “Wireless Charger Slated for 2018 Rollout After FCC Approval”
- TODAY Show: “Martha Stewart shows how to get your kitchen organized”
- FOX Business: “The impact of wireless-charging advances”
- NBC: “Silicon Valley Company Gets Go-Ahead for Wireless Charging; Stock Triples”
- The New York Post: “Now you can charge your phone from up to 3 feet way”
- CNET: “Wireless charging reaches beyond the charging pad
With all the amazing new technology and devices coming to the market at a rapid pace, why was this FCC certification so newsworthy?
Think of it like Wi-Fi. We’re all familiar with Wi-Fi and how it has changed our daily lives. We can now stream 4K and HD videos, access emails and post on social media from nearly anywhere. Just as Wi-Fi has dramatically improved our ability to access and share information, we believe wireless charging over-the-air will alleviate battery anxiety for all of our small electronic devices. Just think: we will be able to enjoy all the benefits of our mobile devices without having to actively think about charging them.
For consumers, this long-awaited solution would finally give them the freedom to carry on with their day-to-day activities instead of worrying about if they remembered their charger.
Of course, we all care about product usability and safety: having this achievement is validation that the technology not only works, but meets and/or exceeds the FCC’s guidelines for health and safety so it can actually be integrated into products. For consumers, this ushers in an entirely new way of charging our beloved electronic devices – an ecosystem that charges over-the-air as needed.
Now that we’ve achieved FCC certification for RF-based wireless charging, we cannot wait to see it come to market in 2018.
