Xiaomi has announced its new remote charging technology called “Mi Air Charge” today. The technology allows charging more than one device at once while recharging a mobile device in use “while walking around or even when something’s in the way.”
In its blog post, Xiaomi details the Mi Air Charge working mechanism. The technology requires a transmitter that is large enough to occupy plenty of space in a room and sufficient enough to deliver up to 5W wireless charging within a radius of up to” several meters”.
Xiaomi’s self-developed isolated charging pile has five phase interference antennas built in, which can accurately detect the location of the smartphone. A phase control array composed of 144 antennas transmits millimeter-wide waves directly to the phone through beamforming.
Unlike Qi charging standard, the smartphones instead should be outfitted with a “miniaturized antenna array with built-in ‘beacon antenna’ and ‘receiving antenna array’ .” The technology, on the other hand, uses a charging pile responsible for emitting a millimeter-wave signal, which will then be converted to electrical energy via a rectifier circuit with the help of smartphones’ antennae — 14 to be accurate.
Xiaomi even asserts that the physical resistances do not degrade efficiency amidst charging.
Soon our living room devices, including speakers, desk lamps, and other small smart home products, will all be built upon a wireless power supply design, completely free of wires, making our living rooms truly wireless.
While Xiaomi affirms that the Mi Air Charge will be compatible with a range of smart devices that include smartwatches, wearables, and fitness bands, it will be exciting to see whether or not it will make it to the consumer level. And even if it’ll, it will definitely be expensive.
