Startup Ossia Unveils Wireless Power Charging Technology

Wireless charging has yet to enter into the mainstream market and has seen little development. But a relatively unknown startup, Ossia, has developed wireless powering technology called Cota that it hopes to bring to market and change the way businesses and consumers power their devices. It uses a wireless spectrum similar to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to safely deliver power, and has the potential to easily power common devices in a seamless way.

“The startup is the brainchild of physicist Hatem Zeine, who decided to focus on delivering wireless power in a way that was commercially viable, both for large-scale industrial applications and for consumer use,” reports TechCrunch. “Zeine has been hard at work developing his wireless power technology and refining its delivery for over a decade now, and has built Ossia under wraps, managing to raise an impressive $3.2 million along the way while also keeping the startup almost completely invisible to the outside world.”

Zeine presented the first public demonstration of the Cota prototype at this week’s TechCrunch Disrupt event in San Francisco. The prototype in its present form has already delivered power wirelessly to devices within about ten feet, using the same wireless spectrum as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee and other standards.

“Cota is the only wireless power technology that can deliver one watt of power at a distance of 30 feet safely,” Zeine said. At Disrupt SF 2013, he showed his Cota prototype wireless power transmitter charging an iPhone 5.

Ossia’s next step is to deliver a commercial quality version of Cota that can replace current wired power connections for sensors and monitors in sensitive areas such as fuel refineries with safe wireless powered devices. Commercial versions should be available within the next few months, and consumerized versions coming in 2015, according to Zeine.

The company’s long-term vision involves users never out of range from wireless charging, with charging networks at home, in public areas, and at work. Combined, these would allow devices with smaller batteries to be made as they will always be charged.

The goal is not to just disrupt the battery, but to change the idea of “charging” where it is no longer a conscious action, notes Zeine.

“The Cota will be over $100, and be about the size of a large tower PC once consumerized,” the article explains. “It can go around walls and through walls just like a Wi-Fi signal. You can configure the system to recognize only a specific set of devices, or open if you want to power all Cota-tech enabled devices.”

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