Belkin Ink Partners With Startup To Create True Wireless Charging Technology

What to look forward to: Wireless charging of devices has been a popular technology target since the advent of Wi-Fi. One company claims to have taken the next major step towards this goal and has agreed to partner with Belkin to develop a new product.

Israeli startup Wi-Charge has been raising funds for its IR-based wireless charging system since its unveiling at CES 2020. The company claims to have developed a more efficient, greener, and safer method for charging various small devices without cables.

The Wi-Charge RI-100 plugs into an outlet and directly supplies power to a receiver connected to the device. This direct IR connection means the RI-100 doesn’t need to bathe an entire room in radio waves, and it doesn’t waste the electricity it transmits. One RI-100 can power multiple receivers in approximately 1400 square feet.

RI-100 receivers can even send information back to the transmitter, letting it know each device’s power needs so it can allocate power intelligently. Multiple transmitters can use this information in tandem via a cloud server, and the host network owner can observe and control the power distribution.

Each transmitter can transmit from 70 milliwatts to one watt of power to each device. One watt is not much to charge a smartphone, but it is enough for many devices that are probably in standby mode most of the time.

The Wi-Charge website uses examples such as smart locks, electric toothbrushes, game controllers, or wireless displays. The company hopes this will reduce the need for batteries and therefore reduce e-waste.

Wi-Charge this week said TechCrunch has signed an agreement with Belkin without revealing what product they have planned. Wi-Charge only described it as a consumer staple and “perfect app”.