Power unleashed: Energous founder talks about true wireless charging at CES 2016

Wireless charging is yet to capture the attention of mainstream consumers, in part due to the fact that despite the availability of various wireless charging solutions, it is still quite limited in its capabilities. However, companies are now focused on addressing this issues, and hopefully, the strides they make in advancing this technology will help wireless charging reach its true potential. One such company is Energous, and we got to spend some time with Michael Leabman, its CTO and founder, during CES 2016, to see what they have in store for us. Let’s take a look!

With the ever-growing number of smart devices and a host of others that require some form of charging on a consistent basis, it can be very tedious to stay on top of everything, and that is the primary issue that Energous is looking to address. The company’s goal is to be able to charge the variety of devices from a distance, so you don’t have to search for a specific pad or charging point, and as long as you are within range of the transmitter, your device will automatically start charging remotely.

The biggest issue with current wireless charging solutions is that it still requires an additional pad that has to be plugged in, so even if indirectly, what we have now isn’t truly wireless. Having to place the device on the pad in the correct position, along with the fact that wireless charging is still comparatively quite slow, are the other problems that need to be addressed.

As Energous showcased last year, the transmitters can be placed anywhere, from your TV bezels to your speakers, and a lot of other places, to help charge your device anywhere in the home. Since then, the focus has been on commercialization and miniaturization, with a lot of effort being put into creating a product that can be made available to consumers as soon as possible.

What the advances in miniaturization has helped achieve is the opening up of another ecosystem that is not being fulfilled, with that being the wearable market. Until today, trying to put a wireless charging coil in smaller wearables, like some fitness trackers out there, has not been feasible, and that is untapped market that Energous is hoping their technology will corner.

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Of course, Energous is a licensing company and not a hardware manufacturer, and as such, is dependent on OEM interest in their technology. After CES last year, Energous did mention the beginnings of a partnership with a top tier consumer electronics company, and while we still don’t have a name, Energous is optimistic about seeing their tech as a part of this company’s products by the end of this year.

Energous has a lot of great ideas about the future of wireless charging and its implementation, so don’t forget to check out the full interview in the video above to see what the company has in store!