Wireless Charging Tech Sends Power Through Clothes, Books
Your next desk may wirelessly charge your phone, even if you have to stack the handset on top of a book or a pile of clothes. The Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) just released its Rezence specification for wireless power transfer so any hardware vendor can make a charger that can penetrate cloth and other materials.
Called the Rezence Baseline System Specification (BSS), the standard is a set of guidelines that allows manufacturers to build a wireless charging device that is compatible with the platform. The spec gives instructions on what power transmitters and receivers to use, along with how to create mutual coupling and inductance. The choice of other components, such as power amplifiers, DC-to-DC converters, rectifiers and microprocessors, are left up to the individual designer.
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Rezence is different from existing wireless charging standards, such as Qi Wireless and PMA, because it uses magnetic resonance technology. This offers a greater range for charging through surfaces such as tables and clothes, without interference. You'll also be able to juice several devices at the same time.
A4WP showed off its solution at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, with products made by Qualcomm, Samsung and Gill Electronics. Hopefully, the opening up of the specification means we will see products consumers can actually buy before the end of the year.
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