Wireless charging has quickly become very popular among technology enthusiasts. Unfortunately, there are a few drawbacks to this charging method. To start with, not every current device even supports it. It has always been difficult to wirelessly charge more than one device at a time. Thanks to a new project by Pi, the latter aspect is becoming less of an issue. Its new charging solution can juice up five devices at the same time without the need for cables.
A Major Breakthrough for Wireless Charging
The needs and demands of consumers all over the world are quickly changing these days. While most electronic gadgets still require a cable to be charged, that situation is slowly changing thanks to the emergence of wireless charging solutions. Most common smartphones and even a select few tablets effectively allow users to wirelessly charge their devices without any friction. However, it still requires a major amount of precision to successfully charge one’s device wirelessly.
Most wireless charging pads require users to properly position their device first. This would explain why a lot of consumers have not much liked wireless charging. If the entire concept of wireless charging requires such a degree of precision, there is no reason to get involved with it in the first place. It is still up to individual hardware manufacturers to implement wireless charging capabilities in their products.
Pi is a more-than-viable solution capable of wirelessly charging more devices at the same time, although it remains to be seen if there will ever be a major demand for such a product. This new device can charge up to 5 devices at the same time using wireless technology. You will not even have to be near the charging device, as it works up to a foot away, which is pretty interesting. It is not entirely surprising to learn that this project was developed at MIT, as the institute has generated some great initiatives over the past few years.
Perhaps most shockingly, the Pi will cost under US$200. That is a pretty sweet price considering most decent wireless chargers aren’t cheap, and those only work with one device at a time. Users will also need to obtain a resonant receiver case to ensure their device can effectively receive a charge. However, being able to wirelessly charge while using one’s device is a major breakthrough for people owning a device supporting this form of charging in the first place.
Projects like these create some interesting opportunities for hardware manufacturers. Either these companies will equip future devices with the resonant receiver technology, or we’ll simply see more traditional devices with wireless charging capabilities. A third option is that we would see more custom cases to support different types of devices which could all benefit from wireless charging with Pi. It will be interesting to see how things play out.
