Innovative Wireless Charger
South Korean research team has succeeded in developing a 3D wireless charger.
The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) of Korea announced on May 25 that it succeeded in developing a 3D wireless charger, dubbed “E-Cup,” which can charge smartphones when placing them in a cup whose diameter is 10 cm regardless of their locations and direction.
The E-Cup uses a uniform field generation technology that can uniformly maintain the distribution of magnetic fields in a space. It can also charge more than two smartphones at a time.
The research team said the technology has the same charging speeds with wired charger and has 60 percent charging efficiency compared to wired charger, boasting the world’s highest technology at the moment. It also has 70 percent of commercialization.
Recently, there is a growing interest in the smart device wireless charging technology using magnetic fields. The ETRI is continuously developing a technology that can efficiently transmit energy at a distance using magnetic resonance instead of existing magnetic induction pads.
The ETRI applied its wireless power transmission technology using magnetic resonance for the first time in 2014 and developed a wireless battery charging technology which enables guide robots to run around the clock. In addition, it developed a wireless electric bike charging technology using magnetic resonance in 2015.
Lee Ho-jin, director of the Telecommunications and Broadcasting Research Laboratory of the ETRI, said, “With the new technology, we can create various services and new markets by using future Internet of Things (IoT), eco-friendly vehicles and drones.”
According to a report released by U.S.-based market research firm Market & Market, the wireless charging market is expected to grow to 13 trillion won (US$11.6 billion) by 2022.