Energous, the company that has been developing a power delivery solution that doesn’t require physical contact, has just got one such system approved by the FCC. This system is reported to charge three feet far devices. The company also has another long-range system with 15-feet range in the works and hasn’t received the green lights from the FCC. This is a first of its kind approval of a new category of devices by the FCC, which has yet to go into mass production.
Yes, the company is planning to demo the product at CES 2018 and there is a chance we might see it in commercial production in late 2018. WattUp getting its hardware some approval is exciting as we could soon be charging devices without the need for charging plugs and cables or even wireless charging pads. Although, it is yet to be seen how convenient a three feet distance solution can be.
WattUp platform is different in that it uses antennas to deliver power instead of inductive charging coils. Its mechanism converts energy into radio waves which are then transferred to a corresponding receiver. Also, this means any receiving device should have the required hardware, which means no current device will work with the solution. The charger won’t be brand-specific, meaning it can be made by any manufacturer and still work with all brands.
Despite being excited at the development, we are also wary of WattUp’s previous falterings. Energous CEO Steve Rizzone has failed to deliver multiple times in the past, especially in 2017. At CES 2017, he claimed that Energous signed a deal with “one of the largest consumer electronics companies in the world.”
Also in February, they promised to ship a finished product by the end of the year 2017, although nothing came out of it. Let’s just hope this time the company is not just playing with people’s minds here.
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