Wireless Charging

Excerpt from an article in

The New York Times

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Built-In Wireless Charging for Electronic Devices

By ANNE EISENBERG

THINK how convenient it would be if you could recharge electronic devices without ever having to plug them in — or even take them out of your briefcase.

Instead, you could leave your briefcase, tote bag or backpack on a counter in the living room at home, and the smartphones and tablets within could see to their own recharging. And the robotic vacuum cleaner in the corner of the room could do likewise.

The WiTricity Corporation in Watertown, Mass., has developed a novel technology to handle just these sorts of wireless energy transfers. The company makes and licenses a system of magnetic coils and companion electronics that turn wireless charging into a built-in function of smartphones and other devices.

Eric Giler, the C.E.O., said consumer electronics using systems from WiTricity, which is short for wireless electricity, would appear this year. The systems will not be sold directly to consumers, but to equipment manufacturers who will embed the magnetic coils in phones, laptops and other products and systems.

WiTricity has signed a technology transfer and licensing agreement with MediaTek, a semiconductor company in Taiwan, to collaborate on systems for wireless charging of mobile handsets, tablet computers, game controllers and other devices, Mr. Giler said.

WiTricity is also developing technology for wireless charging of electric vehicles and, later, for use in implanted medical devices like heart pumps, said Katie Hall, its chief technology officer.