Photo by Lucian Alexe on Unsplash
The major reason smart devices, mainly smartphones, are immensely useful is due to the portability they provide with the help of the battery management system. This allows consumers to make use of the device without direct supply for an extended period.
Even though every new smart device is more efficient compared to the last concerning the power consumption and battery life, there are still gaps on the battery technology innovation side that have not kept up with the growing software and hardware demand.
To tackle this critical gap, the industry is moving from wired to wireless charging solutions as it provides charging wire-free and aims to make it ubiquitous. The solution has gained traction in the smartphone domain where charging points are increasingly being switched to wireless hotspots than wired.
By 2030, Wireless Charging Will Be $50 Billion Market
The concept of wireless electricity is not new and has been in existence since 1900s. The major gap has been in adoption in the areas where there is need to have wireless charging solution to ensure consumers and businesses never run out of power.
With the popularity of electric vehicles, it will be quite interesting to see what type of innovative solutions come out to provide hassle-free charging.
WHY WIRELESS CHARGING
With the growing demand to perform day to day activity on the go also means the power required to run the smart devices should be available any time. Most of the devices that reside at one location like smart cameras, smart sensors, and so on, can be hooked directly to the power outlet to draw electricity 24x7x365. This does not apply to the devices that have to be used remotely like smartphones, laptops, or an electric car.
Though these devices can get hooked to the power outlet, but do suffer from the fundamental issue of requiring a different set of adapter for each of the devices.
How useful will it be if the source or the adapter is capable of adapting the current and voltage requirement of the device so that one adapter device fits all?
This will not only drastically decrease the need to have different types of charging points and devices, but will also make the system smart by providing always-on charging capability. This adds one more ease of use layer on top of what is currently provided by the smart devices concerning compute and connectivity.
In the end, the demand to use smart portable devices and solutions will not go down. The form factor may change, but the need will always be there. It is about time that the way these smart devices get powered also becomes smart, and wireless charging is the way to do it.
IMPACT OF WIRELESS CHARGING
Imaging a scenario where you have four different types of smart devices to charge, with each using different power adapter, and on top of this, there is only one power outlet to use. What do you do? The simple answer is charge as per the priority of the device that needs to be active for a critical task. Is this a smart way to charge smart devices in a smart world?
Wireless Charging Is Not About Smart Devices But About Smart World
If the answer is no, then certainly the way to power these devices should change. This can be with the use of Quick Charge technology, but it requires that the device is equipped with a specific System on Chip (SoC).
Another important factor is that charging in the future will not be limited to consumer electronic smart devices only. The definition is going to extend to automotive and all the connected systems that will go wireless.
The impact of wireless charging is huge not only from the market demand point of view but also on how much good change and impact it will have on the usage.
Wireless charging will extend the life of using the device and will ensure that the smart systems never run out of the power. These always-on systems will make use of a smart sleeping mechanism to provide savings to businesses, industries, and consumers.
Wireless charging will drive innovation by introducing solutions that are built on top of next-gen connectivity standard. The portability wireless charging will add will also ensure standardization by eliminating the need to have different types of adapters, cables, and power outlets.
The opportunity and solutions around wireless charging are also going to drive faster adoption of an electric vehicle by providing more mileage without worrying about the stoppage to charge the car as roads and the nearby system itself can provide wireless charging solutions.
The wireless charging system by default is COVID-19 compliant.
WIRELESS CHARGING INNOVATION
The innovation around wireless charging is going to be the key factor in faster adoption. There are already many interesting ideas that are out in the market that showcase the power of wireless charging.
AiraPower’s FreePower technology shows how customized solution that provides multi-device wireless charging is going to change the day to day charging points at home, automotive, and business zones.
Energous also showcases different possible ways wireless charging is going to be part of the daily life. It provides a unique approach to how the smart devices can draw energy wirelessly the moment the battery level goes down a specific threshold.
Semiconductor companies have already started to provide solutions that can be deployed around the city to enable the charging of electric vehicles an enjoyable and more innovative. The current solution focuses on dedicated parking spots with wired cables that can be used by electric vehicles. Imagine parking the vehicle in a shopping mall and it charges using the wireless pads in the parking spot while one enjoys the shopping.
All this leads to a true benefit when the electric vehicle cannot be refilled as fast as a fossil fuel-powered vehicle.
These are a few of the many solutions out in the market. The next year or two more innovative and advanced approaches will show up with more smart devices starting to adopt wireless charging.
FUTURE OF WIRELESS CHARGING
It is important to understand the future of wireless charging. The current use cases are well defined, with more emphasis on smartphones than any other consumer electronics.
Currently, the wireless solution is confined to specific locations like a couple of devices at home and in the workplace. Going forward, there are going to be three key areas which will see faster and exponential adoption this leading to the standardization of wireless charging solutions.
These three domains are: automotive, home and work place.
In automotive, the electric vehicles are going to adapt to the wireless charging more than any other solution. It will showcase the true potential of an inductive charging for high power devices like a motor car or a bus. China being one of the fastest-growing markets will lead the way in showcasing innovative approaches concerning wireless charging and electric vehicles.
For home, the solutions will move beyond smartphones to television and cooking appliances. The number of power outlets will decrease, and home buyers and renters will see how real estate will make use of wireless charging solutions to provide Over The Top (OTT) services. This may add cost to the buyers and renters, but will also see a balance by removing the need to have different types of power outlets and adapters.
Workplace (including business and entertainment zones) will start adopting to the solutions whenever there is a gathering of employees or the number of visitors in a business zone is more than the number of power outlets. Such places will see more wireless charging stations that will not require cables and will only have pads that will act as charging points.
This decade with advanced connectivity will demand always-on devices. This is going to push for the faster adoption of wireless charging. It will be interesting to see what other innovative use cases of wireless charging come up as adoption grows.
