Ossia claims 2.4-GHz free-space wireless power breakthrough

Wireless power technology company Ossia (Bellevue, WA) has boosted the performance of its 2.4-GHz free-space wireless power receiver by 50% and will soon be able to work in the 5.8-GHz band for receivers smaller than a AA battery.
 

The boost at 2.4 GHz came from a firmware upgrade in the receiver. "Ossia's innovation opens many doors for Cota licensees," said Mario Obeidat, Ossia's CEO. "By linking Cota transmitters with the increased power delivery potential, businesses can provide more power to more devices at a distance within an even larger space. From what we've had tested, between 1 m to 2 m, we have averaged a 50% increase across the board."

The current Cota 2.4 GHz prototype in the form factor of a Cota Tile, can currently deliver wireless power over 10 m  with a single transmitter and 15 m with two.

"In addition to working on increasing power delivery over distance, we are also working toward decreasing the costs of the entire system,"  said Obeidat. "By increasing power and decreasing costs we are innovating on new applications for Cota, such as Electronic Shelf Labels, and retrofitting current devices with smartphone sleeves. Ossia is advancing the entire wireless power ecosystem."

"The higher frequency Cota systems will provide new opportunities and expand the possible use cases for wireless power," said Hatem Zeine, Founder and CTO.  The higher frequency increases the number of antennas possible on a same-size Cota transmitter, which increases the amount of power that can be delivered to a Cota-enabled receiver. This would also allow manufacturers can shrink the size of the transmitter to deliver the equivalent power of the 2.4 GHz Cota system.

The higher frequency also increases the focus of the power signal, which increases the amount of power delivered to a Cota receiver, and ensures more energy is going where it is needed. This is due to the shorter wavelength of the higher frequency system.This would mean licensses could decrease the size of the Cota receiver, which enables them to create receivers to fit currently available battery sizes even smaller than the AA battery. 

The Cota technology allows a single transmitter to power multiple devices in motion, without a line of sight, and at a distance. Cota is inherently safe and does not interfere with other wireless technologies. All Cota-enabled devices can be activated, managed, and monitored via the Cota Cloud platform.