Not long ago, true remote wireless energy seemed like a technical dream, but promising new approaches (and a lot of venture capital) have brought it closer to reality than ever. One company at the forefront is Seattle-based Ossia, which in June received the approval of its 2.4GHz Cota wireless power system under Parts 15 and 18 of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules governing the electromagnetic compatibility. This cleared the way for the company to market and sell its products in the US. UU. And catapulted him into the ranks of the rivals who also passed the FCC list.
Ossia has tried to gain a foothold in the lucrative commercial, business and industrial sectors, but is laying the groundwork for the launch of its technology by consumers in the coming years. In a timely case, today announced the launch of Cota Home, a 30 x 30 cm reference design for a transmitter that can power multiple devices in a 30-foot range.
"Consumers drive technological revolutions, and Cota Home can provide real wireless power to everyone, including people in the home and in small business environments," said Ossia CEO Mario Obeidat. "Just as Wi-Fi routers drove mass adoption of the Internet, Cota Home can free millions of owners of batteries, cables, charging pads and cables and allows them to take advantage of wireless charging remotely."
Cota Home, which according to Obeidat is designed to fit in the home, the domestic office or the environment of a small business, operates at the frequency of 5.8 GHz, which allows it to offer a power approximately 4 times greater than the technology of 2.4 GHz of Ossia with less susceptibility to interference. (It is worth noting that Ossia only received approval for the transmission of energy of one meter above 2.4GHz, although it says it is actively working with the agency to obtain 5GHz certification). It connects to a power source and is managed through Css Home of Ossia service, mainly through a board called Cota Cloud or a complementary mobile application.
Cota Home automatically starts charging all devices in the range equipped with receivers, and is part of the Ossia 5.8 GHz reference design kit, a complete solution for OEM customers and partners. Obeidat, who points out that the transmitter does not interfere with Wi-Fi or other wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth, believes it will stimulate device manufacturers such as Spigen, which last year pledged to launch a range of wireless power transmitters and cases for Smartphones compatible with Ossia technology.
Above: The Ossia Cota Home concept. Image: Ossia
"We predict that Cota Home will boost the demand for more wireless power-enabled devices, and manufacturers will have more incentives to create products that are safe for the environment (no batteries or chargers are required), lighter and ready for 5G," he said. Obeidat "Real wireless power represents a significant evolutionary leap that can inspire innovative new products while reducing the high environmental cost of batteries and cables."
If you are not familiar with the Ossia Cota platform, here is a quick introduction: unlike most "wireless" charging technology on the market, Cota does not require line of sight access. Rather, it uses thousands of antennas built into transmitters that communicate with compatible transceivers. When a device begins to run on low energy, those antennas emit beacon signals of microseconds long that are reflected on the walls, furniture and other obstacles until they reach a transmitter, which triangulates the beams to identify the location of the transceiver and then sends energy along those roads.
The first-generation Cota transmitter could send approximately 1 watt to a smartphone located at a distance of three to six feet, while its Cota Tile product could charge devices up to 30 feet (or 50 feet) with two transmitters working in tandem).
In September 2018, the startup based in Bellevue, Washington, said it would join Walmart to help the retailer reduce costs in its thousands of stores, the fourth such association of Ossia that year. Based on this commitment, the company revealed last May that it is collaborating with T-Mobile to develop a wireless Internet of Things (IoT) asset tracking solution, first of its kind, to be tested in the Walmart distribution centers later. year, before a production in 2020.
It is a significant step towards a mass market launch for Ossia, which has raised more than $ 35 million to date and has a growing list of partners along with the manufacturer of smartphone accessories Spigen. But the company faces competition from Powercast, a startup founded in 2003 that is developing a wireless remote power system, and Energous, which is issuing transmitter licenses that can send power through the air to devices up to 15 meters away. feet. Like Ossia, Energous and Powercast are developing products approved by Part 15 and Part 18.
However, unlike some of its rivals, Ossia is not a newcomer to remote loading. About a decade ago, the company developed its first wireless wireless transceiver that could transmit electricity to devices anywhere within range. In later years, it has released kits that include a replacement AA battery with wireless power (the Forever battery); licensed designs for antenna companies; built a management platform hosted in the cloud; and recruited ecosystem partners such as Displaydata, Molex and Motherson.
