Powercast Demonstrates Broad Applications of Wireless Power at CES 2024, Powering Environmentally-Friendly Products Short to Long Range & Microwatts to Kilowatts

Industry leader in far-field, over-the-air RF charging can now power products over entire spectrum of wireless power after expanding portfolio with near-field, contact-based inductive charging via partnership with Powermat.

 Powercast, the industry’s complete solution for wireless power, providing short to long range and microwatts to kilowatts, will demonstrate at CES 2024, booth #51516, the breadth of solutions it can provide via its expanded portfolio. Powercast expanded its portfolio via a partnership with Powermat in 2023 to add Powermat’s short-range, high-power SmartInductiveTM hybrid inductive/resonance technology, best known for the smartphone charging surfaces deployed worldwide in cars and coffee shops, to its own award-winning long-distance, low-power radio-frequency (RF) technology.

Google Home

These two pioneers of wireless power partnered to create one team that can implement sustainable, environmentally-friendly products across the entire spectrum of wireless power that can save manufacturers time and money, and cut wires and batteries to eliminate clutter and curtail e-waste, saving hundreds of millions of batteries from landfills.

“We’ve had a record year and with the addition of Powermat’s SmartInductive technology, we’re prepared to meet growing demand for both the near and far-field segments of the wireless power market, which Research and Markets expects to reach $45.3 billion by 2030,” said Charles Greene, PhD, COO and CTO of Powercast. “The partnership has created a cohesive entity that saves customers from having to research power solutions, because no matter the application, our team can apply the best solution. Our expert engineering team can also support customers from concept to prototyping to production as needed. We are truly a wireless power one-stop-shop, which is a first-of-its kind convenience for customers.”

Wireless charger demos will include those featuring RF, SmartInductive and the technologies combined:

Through the Table SmartInductive Charger

  • RFID RF chargers, designed to be the industry’s most economical RF chargers.
  • SmartInductive “through-the-table” chargers that line up above/below and charge through a table up to 1.5 inches thick – no cutting or wires required.
  • A dual-technology RF/SmartInductive charger jointly developed by Powercast and Powermat designed to charge phones placed directly on it, and RF-enabled devices placed near it. The range for over-the-air RF charging is about one to 15 feet, but ultra-low-power devices like sensors can charge up to 120 feet away.
  • A retrofitted Google Home Nest that now also transmits RF power, demonstrating Powercast’s drop-in RFID module that lets manufacturers easily embed RF charging into their own devices for only a $5 bill-of-materials (BOM) cost.

Wireless products that these transmitters can charge will also be demonstrated:

  • A retrofitted DeWalt power drill that recharges on a SmartInductive charging surface.
  • The Dolphin Liberty cordless pool cleaning robot featuring SmartInductive, a technology that’s capable of underwater charging.

    Drill

  • A retrofitted Arlo security camera installed outside a home that recharges through the wall from an RF transmitter inside the home – eliminating the need to hire technicians and drill holes/run wires outside.
  • A demo combining two small-form-factor technologies – Nichicon’s rechargeable batteries and Powercast’s PCC110 RF Powerharvester® chip – to create rechargeable, space-constrained devices such as styluses, medical devices and IoT sensors.

    Arlo Camera

  • And many other products including a keyboard and mouse, TV remote, charging grip for the Nintendo Joy-Cons, home security and IoT sensors, door lock, digital luggage tag, smart product packaging, and even Smartballs with sensors to deliver analytics for sports like cricket or football.

Optimized for different applications, Powercast’s and Powermat’s technologies differ in strength and transfer distance, and together cover the entire spectrum of wireless power:

  • Powercast’s RF transmitters/receivers can transfer power up to 120 feet, but deliver lower levels: 100s of milliwatts to single-digit microwatts. This technology is suited for one-to-many charging of low-power devices, like IoT security and home automation sensors in remote locations where wiring/battery replacement is inconvenient or prohibitive, and other consumer devices like game controllers, wearables, headphones and other hearables, keyboards and mice, TV remotes and more.

    TV Remote Control

  • Powermat’s SmartInductive transmitting/receiving coils charge one product at a time and must closely align – within 8 inches – but can transfer more power: 5 watts for consumer-grade applications to 600 watts for industrial-grade ones like telecom, robotics, micro-mobility, medical and underwater charging.

Greene explained, “Our vision is a world where power is ubiquitous, sustainable, wire-free, and seamlessly accessible. Our ultimate goal is true wireless freedom through an ecosystem of connected transmitters and receivers, both in the public and private domains, which provide people, products and machines the ability to move around freely with seamless access to power.”

Nichicon Stylus

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Powercast Exhibits at Sensors Expo 2017!

sensors expo 2017 logo

Powercast will be attending Sensors Expo 2017 June 27-29 2017.  Come visit us at booth 943!

Powercast Releases Higher Efficiency P2110B Module


Powercast Releases a more Efficient Powerharvester Module, P2110B


The P2110B module is pin compatible with the P2110 module but has higher RF to DC conversion efficiency. If you have any questions about transitioning to the P2110B, the functional differences are detailed on the datasheet. You can also email our Team at support@www.powercastco.com.

P2110B Datasheet

Purchase P2110B at Mouser Electronics

Future Electronics and Powercast Sign Global Distribution Agreement

Press Release

Future Electronics and Powercast Sign Global Distribution Agreement

Montreal, Canada and Pittsburgh, PA — Apr 13, 2010 — Powercast Corporation, a pioneer in the field of RF energy harvesting and wireless power, and Future Electronics announced today that they have entered into a worldwide franchise distribution agreement. Under the terms of the agreement Future Electronics will distribute Powercast’s full line of Powerharvester™ receivers and Powercaster™ transmitters.

“We are excited by the addition of Powercast to the Future line card,” said Frantz Saintellemy, Corporate Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Future Electronics. “Powercast is the first supplier in our energy harvesting portfolio, and they are working with several of our existing major suppliers on low-power applications. We see energy harvesting as a high growth sector in the near future and envision many potential applications enabled by Powercast’s technology that are in alignment with our Future Energy Solutions group”.

“Future Electronics is a world-class, global distributor with broad capabilities in field sales, engineering and system design support for electronic components,” said Harry Ostaffe, Director of Marketing and Business Development, Powercast. “We are looking forward to working with Future Electronics in enabling customers to create devices that can be powered wirelessly from radio waves with our unique and patented technology”.

Future Electronics’ initial stock will include Powercast’s new P1110 and P2110 Powerharvester receivers, which are available immediately.

About Powercast (www.www.powercastco.com)
Powercast Corporation is a leading innovator of RF energy harvesting and wireless power technology. Founded in 2003, Powercast’s proprietary core technology and related intellectual property pioneered the model for completely untethered electronic devices by transmitting and harvesting common radio waves similar to those in wireless communications. Powercast’s technologies eliminate or reduce the need for batteries, extend sensor networks into hard-to-service locations and enable greater system efficiency in applications such as building automation and energy management.

About Future Electronics (www.futureelectronics.com)
Headquartered in Montreal and operating in 42 countries around the world, Future Electronics has earned an impressive reputation for the strength of its commercial and technical competencies through all stages of the design-production cycle, and for developing efficient, comprehensive global supply chain solutions. Future Electronics is globally integrated, with one worldwide IT infrastructure providing real time inventory availability and access, while enabling full integration of operations, sales and marketing worldwide. Offering the highest level of service, the most advanced engineering/design capabilities and technical solutions, and the largest available-to-sell inventory in the world, the company’s mission is always to Delight the Customer.

Information:

FUTURE ELECTRONICS
Martin H. Gordon
Director, Corporate Communications
514-694-7710 x 2236
Martin.gordon@future.ca

Powercast
Harry Ostaffe
Director, Marketing & Business Development
+1 412-923-4774
hostaffe@www.powercastco.com

Wireless Sensor System

Wireless Sensor Networks

Powercast’s technology is ideally suited for powering wireless sensors networks for a number of industries including:

  • Industrial Monitoring
  • Energy Management
  • Smart Grid
  • Defense
  • Building Automation
  • Structural Health Monitoring