Interview with Energous Wireless Charging Solutions at CES 2015

Wireless charging has come a long way in the past few years, offering a more convenient way of making sure your device has enough battery to last the day. Though it may be convenient, wireless charging is still heavily dependent on cables in some form, whether you’re setting the device down on a PMA-powered charging mat or a Qi-enabled docking station. The folks at Energous would like to take this idea even further, offering wireless charging up to 15 feet away from the central ‘hub’, which is placed somewhere around your home. Using their WattUp technology, Energous has a vision that entails walking into your home and instantly having your devices begin charging. We had the great opportunity of speaking with Energous at CES 2015, and they explained their ideas and goals for the always-charging home.

The technology is geared towards devices that can charge under 15 or 16 watts, which means it can charge any type of mobile device you have. Energous has a variety of WattUp hubs that can be placed anywhere, all specifically made to look like everyday items found around the house. In the examples shown to us, we saw televisions, speakers, routers and many more devices, all acting as wireless charging hubs. Each hub has a 15-foot charging radius from its core, so if you have a device in the center of a room, that means it has a 30-foot charging distance from end-to-end. Depending on how much power you’d like to give off at one time, these hubs can charge up to 24 devices at once. Energous has also partnered up with various companies to create receiver cases to place on your mobile devices that enables them to charge wirelessly. We’re assuming that if this technology becomes more mainstream, WattUp charging compatibility will be built into mobile phones and tablets without needing a receiver, but that vision is still a ways off.

Energous also commented on how they plan on keeping this technology safe. WattUp technology has already passed its first wave of regulatory approvals, and they’re working on building more partnerships to make this technology as safe as possible. Energous is currently partnered with 14 JDA partners, a retail planning software company, which all have tremendous knowledge of FCC regulations and health and safety practices.

Energous says they plan on making consumer-ready products available sometime around the end of 2015, but most products won’t hit the market until sometime in 2016.