Xiaomi today unveiled its “Mi Air Charge technology”, which allows devices to be wirelessly charged from all over the room with a power of 5 W.
Mi Air Charge technology offers a solution for “true wireless charging”, without cables or stands. Devices charge remotely with 5W of power, using advanced spatial positioning and beamforming energy transmission.
Xiaomi has developed an isolated charging station with five-phase interference antennas, which can accurately detect the location of a smartphone. A phase control array with 144 antennas then transmits millimeter-wide waves directly to the phone by beamforming.
For smartphones, Xiaomi has developed a corresponding miniaturized antenna array with a “beacon antenna” and a “receiving antenna array”. The beacon antenna transmits low power position information, while the receiving antenna array uses 14 antennas to directly convert the millimeter wave signal emitted from the charging station into electrical energy through a rectifier circuit.
The remote charging technology is capable of charging multiple devices within a few meters radius, with each device able to receive 5W of power. Xiaomi also notes that physical objects placed between the charging pile and the device will not reduce the charging efficiency.
Xiaomi says it wants to expand the technology to smartwatches, wristbands and other wearables in the future, as well as smart home speakers, desk lamps and more. It’s unclear how close Xiaomi is to bringing its Mi Air Charge technology and charging stack to the consumer market, but today’s revelation may indicate that this is sooner than later.
The announcement indicates that progress in remote wireless charging within the industry is steadily evolving. Several years ago, it was rumored that Apple partnered with Energous to provide its own remote wireless charging solution. Apple is believed to be still researching new wireless charging technologies, and with the arrival of MagSafe on iPhone 12 models, the company is clearly interested in new ways to power devices.