Imagine power being delivered through the air, without the need for any cables or charging pads. That’s what Ossia’s Cota wireless charging technology can do, and it’s available this year.
Imagine power being delivered through the air, without the need for any cables or charging pads. That’s what Ossia’s Cota wireless charging technology can do, and it’s available this year.
The Cota has been in development for ten years and in its current form resembles a cylindrical tower, about the same size and shape as the Mac Pro. Inside the Cota are hundreds of omnidirectional antennas that can beam radio frequency waves over 2.8GHz at 100Hz, well beyond the interference range of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
The waves carry a power charge, capable of delivering 1W of power wirelessly up to a range of 10 meters, but they aren’t on all the time. To ensure safe charging, the Cota only sends out a power charge when it receives a signal connection from a device. If that signal isn’t detected – if it’s blocked by a person standing in the way, for example – the power won’t be delivered. The Cota isn’t limited to smart devices either, it can charge virtually anything that can be fitted with a receiver chip, including digital cameras, remote controls, electric toothbrushes, smoke detectors and IoT devices like thermostats and electronic locks.
The Cota itself is scheduled to enter production around Q3 this year, while the receiver chips are already being produced. According to Ossia, the first-generation of Cota products will mainly be accessories, such as smartphone cases, with the receiver chips inside them. If all goes well, next-generation devices will already have Cota chips built into them.
