Wireless Charging Could Be Coming to a Wearable Near You

Any person who lives on their laptop, smartphone, or even smartwatch these days knows that charging batteries is the bane of constantly being on them. Whether it’s strategically planning out where and when you can charge, or limiting your activity to preserve precious battery life, it is a constant thought in the background of everyone’s mind. But what if you didn’t have to stop and plug in? Drayson Wireless may be on their way to changing that.

Wireless charging isn’t necessarily new technology, or a new idea by any means. Basically, wireless charging works with a transmitter induction coil creating an electromagnetic field, and then transferring that power to another coil when they come into contact. Outside of the basics of that principle, problems begin to occur, such as being only able to charge one device at a time.

While there doesn’t seem to be a solution to the multiple device dilemma just yet, Drayson Wireless has been improving the efficiency of wireless charging, to make it a technology that could actually be feasible. By using an improved resonant inductive coupling technology, they claim their system can transfer 1.5kW over a distance of .5 meters, or with their long distance system 10 mW up to 5 meters. Imagine charging a device with the base in a complete other room, completely freeing up your usage with the device.

And Drayson already has a partnership with a wearable to begin putting their wireless system to the test. Playtabase, a Minnesota-based startup, is joining with Drayson to release their home-controlling wearable wristband Reemo. The device which did not meet is funding goal on its Indiegogo campaign, aims to control various connected home devices through gestures, such as a Nest thermometer. The wireless charging comes in primarily because of who Reemo is targeted for. The device has the elderly in mind, who might have trouble getting up to charge their device, and in turn wait on it to charge. So instead, the idea is that they could charge the device without ever having to get up, and simply keep the device on their wrist.

Reemo and wireless charging.

However, full scale adoption of such a technology is still a ways away, with smartphones being the gatekeeper to a lot of new technology. As Jef Holove from fitness wearable maker Basis puts it, “There’s going to have to be one category that has a killer use that drives adoption.” We’ll just have to wait and see what that category will be.

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