Whenever a new technology is introduced, it’s exciting news, but not nearly as exciting as knowing how it will be adopted in the real world. People who predict technology trends are imagining different applications for different technologies all the time. But what actually gets manufactured and distributed in the real world is often a surprise.
For those who are closely watching wireless power technology on its journey to mass adoption, here are eight real-world products that were recently — and somewhat quietly — announced, but may make some noise in the upcoming months. Can you put any of these to work at your organization?
1. The Cota Power Station
The Cota Power Station is essentially a secure box that can be located anywhere in the field for wireless charging of small devices, including handheld scanners, asset trackers (see product #2 in this list), and other mobile devices. These Cota-enabled products are simply placed anywhere in the box — no wires, charging pads, or specific placement orientation required — for automatic charging. It is currently available and being leveraged successfully to save on thousands of hours of labor. See this one example of the Cota Power Station in action.
2. Cota Asset Tracker
The Cota Asset Tracker works hand in hand with the Cota Power Station, although both have many potential applications. The Cota Asset Tracker is a wirelessly powered GPS device that can easily attach to trailers, a fleet of cars, or even crates of products to track their location at any given time. The Cota-enabled device is simply placed in the Cota Power Station, often located at a guard station, on departure for immediate re-charging.
“This first-of-a-kind innovation can save distribution centers millions per year by improving on real time logistics information, efficiency, and worker safety,” according to the announcement. As one use case example, workers no longer have to physically view a trailer of products in a distribution center parking lot to know exactly where it is located in the lot.
3. Cota Power Table
A 2022 CES innovation award winner, the Cota Power Table solves the problem that many hospitality and public gathering spaces have of people competing for charging outlets. The table surface itself provides the power to devices placed on it.
The most novel part? No wires tether the table down; the wireless table can be easily moved for cleaning or re-arranging for different events. An outlet doesn’t even need to be nearby. The table also comes in different design styles and heights to accommodate different locations, including hotels, restaurants, airports, and conference halls. Check out the original press release.
4-8. Cota-Enabled IoT Devices and Cota Power Receiver
Number four to eight on our list are all about wirelessly powering our world of connected things. Just about any small consumer device can be created to accommodate wireless power, but which ones will be first? As it turns out, Archos, a strategic partner to Ossia, is focusing on integrating Cota: Real Wireless Power into four IoT devices:
- Indoor wireless camera
- Smart watch
- Smart pet tracker
- Air quality and temperature station
Another strategic partner, Marubun, has licensed Cota for an IoT sensor, called the Cota Power Receiver, that can be included in a broad range of smart devices, including for consumer, commercial, or medical use. That’s product number eight, but it really can be applied to so many things, so we’ll see which companies leverage this “shortcut” to wireless power integration first.
What Products Will Be Wirelessly Powered Next?
All eight of these wirelessly powered IoT devices will be able to receive power over the air, without wires or line of sight, at a distance, and be managed through the cloud. But they are by no means the only products that could be Cota enabled.
Never needing to stop and think about plugging in or placing on a charger to charge means these devices will be “always on.” And no downtime needed, which means they will receive a continuous flow of information and reliability. What other products can you think of — currently existing or not — that could benefit from this essential feature?
At Ossia, we love to consider everything that is made possible with Real Wireless Power. We look forward to hearing about your ideas to leverage wireless power to solve our world’s real problems.
