AA interviews Alliance for Wireless Power

Wireless charging is yet to reach the heights of popularity that was first expected from this technology, even if it has been gaining some ground over the past few years. Two rival consortiums, the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) and the Power Matter Alliance (PMA), have now joined forces to create a unified organization, aiming to help push this promising technology to mass-market, and aiming to make wireless charging the standard charging solution for consumers. We spent some time with Geoff Gordon, Chair of the marketing committee of the A4WP, to talk about the new alliance, their latest wireless charging product called Rezence, and what the future has is in store.

At CES 2015, the A4WP was present to showcase their Rezence wireless charging technology, with 18 partners on the floor to show off their Rezence certified products. The key with Rezence is the ability to seamlessly integrate the Rezence transmitting pads with any surface, just by attaching it below the surface area. For example, the charging pad can be connected below a counter top or table, allowing you to wirelessly charge a device just by placing it on that table. All you need to attach the pads is double sided tape or screws to fit it below the surface. While the distance of the charging pads capabilities isn’t officially specified, it works very well up to 50 mm, which means that it can be used with most table tops and counters, where the thickness is usually at a maximum of 26 mm.

In terms of what the future holds for the A4WP, we will be seeing products roll out over the duration of the year, mostly in an accessory capacity, with the technology integrated into devices like mobile phones, tablets, and even laptops towards the second half of 2015. With some member companies announcing support for this wireless charging tech within their chipsets, which of course, removes the inconvenience of needing any additional accessories to connect to the device.

Apart from the potential with regards to your mobile phones and tablets, it is also possible to charge laptops using Rezence. Having one charging solution for all our devices is certainly going to be very useful, and needing to just place these devices on any regular surface makes it even better. The idea is to have this charging solution easily available wherever you may need it such as the home, office, and in your car, and the partnerships and growing list of members of the A4WP certainly show a growing commitment to this goal. The merger with the PMA will also play a significant role in advancing this technology and making it more readily available to the masses.