Already able to charge wireless phones remotely - Breaking the phone industry

Wireless charging will be defined correctly with its name with this technology.

Standard wireless charging devices like Qi have been around for a long time; even IKEA interior company has integrated it in some of their products. But if you think about it, there is no difference between wired and wireless charging. After all, all must be plugged into the power source and put the phone in a fixed place to charge. If the phone can be wirelessly charged, then that's a pretty big step.

CEO XE - Ivan Chuba.

XE, a startup company from Ukraine, confirmed that they have found a safe way to transmit electricity within 5 meters. Commercial products will include an electric transmitter of 15 × 15 × 40cm in size and a 3mm thick power strip.

The XE team demonstrated this ability to Ars Technica in their lab. This test version is still very cumbersome, the battery is mounted on the 3D printed charging platform and the generator is contained inside a black box. The generator will be turned on and then turned off when the phone starts charging, taking about 20 seconds because it is time for the battery to receive enough power to charge it.

The XE does not allow reporters to take pictures inside the charging platform, but it seems to include an antenna, a battery receiver and a small circuit. XE has succeeded in remote power transmission, but how do they do it?

The XE team demonstrated this ability to Ars Technica in their lab.

This project was formed from an idea flashed by the founder, Mr. Ivan Chuba: Can a smartphone be powered as a crystal radio receiver (crystal radio) ?

"About 20 years ago, I was interested in radio power technology, crystal radio receivers were very popular at the time. So I recall and think whether that principle of operation applies to Wireless charger " - Chuba shared.

The idea of ​​crystal radio receivers is simple: a copper coil, capacitor, crystal detector and high impedance headphones. Users can listen to the radio without electricity, although the volume is quite small. XE insists they have successfully built receivers and transmitters to efficiently transmit electricity.

The idea of ​​crystal radio receivers is simple: a copper coil, capacitor, crystal detector and high impedance headphones.

"Our biggest achievement is antennas. Usually the shortwave band needs a very large antenna to receive the signal and transfer it to the current converter. But we made it smaller to fit the iPhone 6 /. 6S ". Said Chuba. He refused to disclose the exact frequency range of the device in use because it was a business secret, saying only that it was under 100 MHz: "We spend a lot of time testing the optimal range".

Before working at XE, Chuba served as Technical Director at iBlazr, a company specializing in removable flash for phones. Currently these products are being sold in Apple stores. Other companies also have many wireless charging related projects but no company can achieve the same thing as XE. Energous and Cota are currently working in the same way but using a common band with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (2.4GHz - 5.8 Ghz). And uBeam uses ultrasound.

The generator uses 2.5W of electricity and a maximum of 5W, so it is safe for people and pets.

When asked about safety issues, Chuba said the generator uses 2.5W of electricity and a maximum of 5W, so it is safe for people and pets. The group is currently working on another test to test safety issues in European authorities next January. They will then send it to the British inspection office for a mass production license. XE plans to produce products in Poland."This technology is very complex and needs to be carefully aligned, so we chose Poland because we had a team there. If China chose this technology, it could be copied , " Chuba said. .

The price of the product will be announced early next year, estimated to be about US $ 200 for a power transmission and bumper. A power transmission can transmit up to 4 devices at the same time. Initially XE will release power transmission belts for iPhone 6 and 6S series but they will expand their products in the future with case manufacturers.

In the long term, XE will make wireless chargers for other electronic devices such as laptops and smart watches.