Powercast announces ultra low-cost “Ubiquity” RF Wireless Transmitter
The result of Powercast’s initiative to slash RF transmitting technology costs, the Ubiquity transmitter ushers in homes of the future where convenient, contactless power can become ubiquitous
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Powercast Corporation, the leader in radio-frequency (RF)-based over-the-air wireless power technology, has unveiled its Ubiquity transmitter, an ultra-low-cost RF power transmitter which was selected as a CES 2023 Innovation Award Honoree in three categories:
- Smart Home
- Embedded Technologies
- Sustainability, Eco-Design & Smart Energy
Designed to be the industry’s most economical RF wireless transmitter, Powercast has lowered the barrier to entry where RF wireless power can actually become ubiquitous with multiple RF transmitters covering every home. Ubiquity will be on display in Powercast’s booth #52311 at the Venetian Expo in the Smart Home Marketplace during CES 2023 in Las Vegas, January 5 – 8, 2023.
“Powercast’s vision is to see a low-cost RF transmitter in every room in every house,” said Charles Goetz, CEO at Powercast. “Much like Wi-Fi routers, a home will need multiple RF transmitters to provide enough RF coverage where convenient, contactless, ‘set it and forget it’ wireless charging becomes a reality. So, we slashed costs and are sharing our Ubiquity design via a reference design with a low $5 bill of material cost, or an embeddable module, that lets manufacturers easily incorporate RF transmitting capability into their own products to accelerate RF transmitter networks in homes.”
Powercast’s over-the-air wireless power architecture has two sides: 1) a transmitter sends RF over the air, and 2) a receiver embedded in end devices harvests that RF from the air and converts it into DC (direct current) to both communicate data, and power devices.
On the transmitter side, Powercast’s Ubiquity will come in several forms, all able to both charge RF-enabled devices and communicate data back and forth with them throughout a home:
- Manufacturers have two options to turn their own products – such as home appliances, TVs, game systems, computer monitors or AI-enabled home assistants – into Ubiquity RF transmitters:
- A licensable reference design provides flexibility and ultimate cost savings for manufacturers to integrate just the electronics needed onto their own circuit boards for $5 or less bill-of-material (BOM) cost.
- An easy-to-integrate, drop-in embeddable module contains all the electronics and hardware needed. Manufacturers will add a power supply and antenna. Powercast will work with manufacturers on an antenna design that best fits their specific product size.
- Powercast also created a standalone Ubiquity transmitter combining its embeddable module with an antenna to show at CES. Powercast will produce this portable-speaker-sized transmitter.
On the receiving side, manufacturers can embed Powercast’s tiny Powerharvester® PCC110 receiver chip and a small antenna into their end devices for around $1 to enable them to work with an RF transmitter – either Powercast’s standalone Ubiquity, or RF-transmitting products created using the Ubiquity embeddable module or reference design.
This wireless power-over-distance architecture is perfect for charging low-power devices with continuous, reliable, background trickle charging. End device examples include TV remotes, electric toothbrushes, keyboards and mice, game controllers, earbuds, headphones, smart watches, fitness bands, hearing aids, clocks, electric shavers, home automation devices and many more devices.
Powercast’s Director of Research and Development Jason Gill explained, “The volumes are in the consumer electronics market, but it’s also price sensitive. In response to these manufacturers’ requests for a sustainable, ultra-low-cost wireless charging solution, our engineers perfected the highly-efficient, single-antenna Ubiquity design that can both transmit power and communicate data. Manufacturers can create environmentally-friendly, RF-powered ecosystems using either rechargeable batteries or no batteries, both of which eliminate disposable battery e-waste and battery replacement hassles.”
The Ubiquity transmitter can output up to 1W (3W EIRP) and automatically charges multiple RF-enabled devices that come into its charging zone – no charging mats needed. Power-hungry devices charge faster within several feet of the transmitter, while ultra-low-power devices like IoT sensors can charge up to 120 feet.
“The far-field wireless power transmitter semiconductor market will soon see a steep growth trajectory with most revenue coming from the consumer market,” said Phil Solis, research director at IDC. “On the receiver side, the consumer market will be the largest segment by 2024 and the vast majority of revenue by 2025. Low-cost solutions are necessary to enable the many devices in the home that can benefit from wireless power.”
The licensable Ubiquity reference design is expected in February 2023. The Ubiquity module and transmitter are expected in June 2023.
Powercast’s Booth #52311 Demonstrates the Home of the Future with RF Wireless Power Everywhere:
Representing the living room and bathroom of the future, Powercast will demo a distributed network of Ubiquity RF transmitters that keep RF-enabled devices working throughout the home. Devices include electric toothbrushes, TV remotes, game controllers, automatic faucets, smart home sensors (water leak, plant moister, thermostats), wall clocks and more.
“RF technology enables a fundamental change in the way our bathroom works,” said Charles Greene, Ph.D., COO and CTO of Powercast. “One transmitter charges all low-power devices like toothbrushes and shavers. RF-powered products eliminate cords around water and hence the chance for electric shock. RF also eliminates the inconveniences of the electric toothbrush – no more dock to accumulate grime, and no more need for batteries that often corrode from water seeping in.”
Episode 7 of the “Powered by Powercast” video series explains why the bathroom is ideal for RF-wirelessly-charged products.
To meet with Powercast, see this award-winning technology in action, and keep up with company news, visit https://www.powercastco.com/ces-2023/.
Powercast Creates Cellular-Based Remote RF Wireless Charging Platform to Enable Mobile Carriers to Offer Power as a Service
Operating in the lower 600 – 900 MHz frequency bands licensed by mobile carriers, the over-the-air RF charging platform enables carriers to monetize underused low-frequency bands and offer “Power as a Service” to charge low-power devices and smart home IoT sensors that eliminate disposable batteries
Las Vegas – Mobile World Congress – September 27, 2022 – Powercast Corporation, the leader in radio-frequency (RF)-based over-the-air wireless power technology, has created a unique cellular-based RF Power-Over-Distance Wireless Charging Platform, built around Sequans (NYSE: SQNS) Monarch cellular IoT connectivity technology. Powercast will demonstrate the solution at Mobile World Congress in Las Vegas, September 28 – 30, booth w2.1226.
Operating in the lower 600 – 900 MHz frequency bands licensed by mobile carriers, the Powercast cellular-based RF Wireless Charging Platform has unique benefits.
- Because cellular bands are licensed, or private, they have more flexibility on how much power they can transmit, antenna gain, and bandwidth which enables end devices to charge faster and at greater distances when compared to unlicensed, or public, bands.
- As cellular service moves increasingly to higher frequencies like 5G to increase data throughput, carriers can monetize their underused low frequency bands and offer “Power as a Service.”
- Ability to simultaneously charge at-a-distance many consumer devices, such as smart home security and automation IoT sensors, TV remotes, keyboards, ear buds, headphones, smart watches, fitness bands and hearing aids.
“Because many RF transmitting devices operate in unlicensed bands such as the 915MHz band, there are limits on transmit power, antenna gain, and other parameters so many devices can coexist and be interoperable,” said Charles Greene, PhD, COO and CTO of Powercast. “This innovative way to use licensed cellular frequencies to increase device charging power will allow manufacturers to create green, sustainable IoT devices that can charge more quickly and at longer distances from a cellular RF transmitter.”
The platform combines Sequans’ Monarch 2 GM02S module with a Powercast RF transmitting antenna to send RF over-the-air to a tiny Powercast PCC110 Powerharvester® receiver chip embedded in end devices. The Powerharvester harvests RF out of the air and converts it to DC (direct current) to either power a battery-free device, or charge a rechargeable battery, both of which keep disposable batteries out of landfills.
In the Mobile World Congress demo, a Sequans Monarch 2 cellular modem teams with Powercast’s 700MHz antenna to transmit a 700MHz RF cellular signal to Powercast’s PCC110 receiver and RF-to-DC converter chip, which then powers a battery-free sensor beacon to transmit temperature and humidity data to a gateway or phone.
“This collaborative effort to introduce cellular technology into the over-the-air RF wireless charging picture creates opportunities for more manufacturers to develop environmentally-friendly smart home IoT ecosystems that eliminate disposable batteries,” said Louis Chuang, EVP and GM of the Massive IoT Business Unit of Sequans. “With cellular everywhere, the opportunities are endless. Powercast is pioneering this field, and shares Sequans’ vision to make IoT more sustainable by integrating an increasing number of functionalities, and limiting the semiconductor carbon footprint.”
Multimedia assets are available: https://mwcamericas.vporoom.com/Powercast
About Powercast
Powercast is the established leader in RF wireless power-over-distance solutions. Since its founding in 2003, Powercast has led the industry in RF wireless power innovations that meet FCC and other global standards. Powercast’s technologies eliminate or reduce the need for wires and batteries, working at distances of 120 feet. The company’s collaborative approach and expertise in all aspects of product design, from vision through prototyping and commercialization, has resulted in dozens of applications, extensive commercial success in both industrial and consumer applications, and over 10 million units shipped. With more than 100 customers and partner companies globally, Powercast leads the RF wireless power market with 79 early and fundamental patents worldwide and 23 patents pending. www.powercastco.com
Powercast and InPlay wirelessly power a Bluetooth beacon from 120 feet!
With both companies experts in power efficiency, Powercast sends power over an unprecedented 120 feet to power InPlay’s Bluetooth beacon which can communicate using only microwatts, together enabling battery-free, maintenance-free, long-range smart IoT sensor systems
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