NuCurrent Announces First Ever Qi-Certified, Extended-Distance Wireless Phone Charger
Wireless power leader advances the industry's standard charging distance by 3x with its 15-Watt MP-A17 design, creating opportunities for innovative products, broader use cases and improved user experiences
CHICAGO, Aug. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- NuCurrent, an industry leader in wireless power intellectual property development and systems design, announces the release of its "Qi Extended-Z Tabletop Charger" design through the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC). The new design – identified as MP-A17 – is the industry's first Qi-certified, 15-Watt wireless charger design with an extended charging distance of up to 12mm, which is over 3 times the distance of the previous standard. This advancement in wireless charging technology will drive innovative charger designs in the furniture, automotive, phone accessory and other markets.
"This is a big moment for NuCurrent, the WPC and our industry," said NuCurrent CEO Jacob Babcock. "Standards are critical for developing technologies like wireless power, but so is innovation, and our MP-A17 design dramatically advances the standard, enabling broader use cases and better user experiences across the industry."
NuCurrent's MP-A17 design was approved this week by the WPC, the global standards body whose members have created and advanced the Qi standard for wireless charging. The design will become part of the WPC's forthcoming specification (version 1.2.4) as well as the WPC's interoperability testbed. NuCurrent has been a member of WPC since 2015 and previously developed other innovative charger designs including the A21 specification for automotive applications.
Prior to the MP-A17 design, Qi wireless charging has required very precise alignment and minimal separation (3-5mm) between the transmitting coil of a charger and the receiving coil of a smartphone. Because of this, some adopters of the technology have cited freedom of placement, charging speeds and charging reliability as shortcomings in their phone charging experiences. Additionally, furniture manufacturers have had to cut into table surfaces to install wireless chargers, versus being able to offer minimally invasive under-table or through surface chargers. Finally, users with phone cases and other on-phone accessories frequently have to remove or reposition their accessories to take advantage of wireless charging. NuCurrent's MP-A17 design improves all of these use cases by extending the range of the transmitter.
"At the onset, many folks in the industry did not believe that our proposed design was technically possible, but NuCurren't technology, creativity and design expertise proved differently," said Babcock. "Our MP-A17 design brings real innovation to our industry and to the billions of users who benefit from the Qi standard."
NuCurrent is currently supporting multiple production intent programs that will feature this new design and expects that other manufacturers will look to leverage the design in the furniture, automotive, and phone accessory industries, as well as in new product development.
About NuCurrent
NuCurrent supplies Fortune 1000 companies and other high-potential product developers with wireless power technologies and systems integration services. Our core technologies span magnetics, software and systems simulation and have generated over 85 patents granted or pending globally. Our broad systems integration expertise supports manufacturers of appliances, smartphones, wearables, hearables, consumer electronics, medical devices, robotics, IoT, sporting equipment and other emerging product categories.
NuCurrent solutions are based on inductive wireless power transfer which offers convenience, safety, efficiency, and great user experience. Founded in 2009, we are a venture-backed company based in Chicago with offices in Hong Kong and San Diego.
For more information, visit https://www.nucurrent.com and follow us on Twitter at @NuCurrentTweets.
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SOURCE NuCurrent
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