Inductive wireless charging that works via pads and coils is now available in most high end devices. But the term “Wireless charging” is still not truly applicable because the device needs to be put on a charging pad at a specific direction for the “wireless charging” to work. Just the device is not connected with any cables.
Now Xiaomi is teasing a leap to the next step. Truly remote wireless charging. The touchless “true” wireless charging which could energize devices from several meters away. Xiaomi is calling this technology Mi Air Charge Technology.
Mi Air Charge Technology is a 5W charging system that uses 144 antennas in the base station sending millimeter-wide waves to your phone, which receives them on a 14-antenna array of its own. Xiaomi is claiming its tech is “not science fiction,” that will eventually charge multiple devices at once, pass through physical objects, and send power to all kinds of small electronics around your room, from smartwatches to speakers.
According to the company “remote charging technology” can charge multiple devices simultaneously and will recharge a smartphone that’s being used, “while walking around or even when something’s in the way”. The transmitter looks quite large, as large as perhaps a living room side-table next to a couch. The smartphones need to be outfitted with a “miniaturized antenna array with built-in ‘beacon antenna’ and ‘receiving antenna array’. The smartphone has 14 antennas to convert a millimeter wave signal that’s emitted by the charging pile. The signal is converted into electric energy through a rectifier circuit.
Other companies are also working actively to produce “true wireless charging” for their phones and other devices. Motorola, a subsidiary company of Lenovo, has also introduced its understanding of how devices should charge wirelessly from a distance. The charger apparently is called Motorola One Hyper. There could be several phones, charged simultaneously, provided nothing stands in the way between the charger and the device.
