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Wireless charging has been an idea in development for many years. Nikola Tesla was the man behind the invention of wireless power transfer. But where will it take us?

Despite the fact that wireless charging options are fairly costly in comparison to the traditional methods of charging a device, the prices are bound to drop in the coming years, which makes the future in this industry pretty exciting. This is of course a step further toward owning a wireless charger yourself with the potential of charging all battery operated devices simultaneously in one charging station.

With the way that wireless charging works, the technology now has the ability to inductively charge mobile devices such as Smartphones, tablets and even AA battery powered devices. The ability for this technology to take us into a realm never seen before now becomes possible.

Wireless charging will affect:

• Vehicles
• Remote Controls
• Various Industrial Components (like Wind Turbines, Wireless Sensor Networks) and of course;
• Various mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

Some predict that 2015 will see in excess of 80 million devices on the market which support wireless charging, compared to the 4.5 million devices sold in 2012. The debate around wireless standards are of course slowing the process down to some extent, but as the inductive charging technology gets better and the need in the market is increased. So also will the decisions around standards be made.

Wireless Power Consortium

The Wireless Power Consortium was established in 2008 and has over 180 companies associated with it including of the major manufacturer and semiconductor development companies. WPC are the founders of the Qi standard which came about in the last quarter of 2010.

Since the development of WPC, over 35 countries have adopted and shipped mobile related devices with mobile charging capability. The devices are built to be charged  using a charging pad or mat.

But how far further can wireless power take us?

Wireless charging pad technology is obviously growing at a very similar rate to the technology of the phones. The ability to charge your mobile phone on a coffee table or bench top is quickly becoming a reality with Starbucks already adopting the concept.

The technology has the ability to extend far further than just charging of mobile devices. The ability to large industrial type objects like wind turbines is now also a reality as well as the ability charge vehicles wirelessly.

The commercialization of wireless power transfer has really come about through charging of mobile devices, however the developments into using wireless power for more standard house hold appliances are also continually being considered and thought out. As inductive charging further develops, the technology may even be able to help with lowering production costs of larger appliances such as and fridges and freezers. Manufacturing prices have the potential to come down as the need for power converters becomes redundant.

Wireless power standards

Competitively there are some large players in the wireless charging community which continue to battle it out. Along with the WPC, there is the Alliance for Wireless Power, Powermat, Qualcomm, Samsung, Google and more. With Qi leading the way, at this stage it becomes the obvious choice for new companies of products to adopt, however companies probably need to stay flexible at this stage as a default standard has not been decided as yet.

Author Bio
Written by Robert Kramers, Blogger & Internet Writer of things that interest me.