AirFuel RF wireless powering sensor kit for maintenance-free IoT hits CES 2023

At CES 2023 (Jan. 5 - 8) in Las Vegas, Atmosic Technologies, a specialist in energy harvesting wireless technology for the Internet of Things (IoT), and Energous Corporation (NASDAQ: WATT), a developer of RF-based power platforms for wireless networks, announced a new software update for their joint Wirelessly Powered Sensor Evaluation Kit featuring Atmosic’s energy harvesting Bluetooth Low Energy system-on-chip (SoC) technology and Energous’ FCC-certified 1W WattUp PowerBridge transmitter.

The kit update now supports the recently announced AirFuel Alliance RF Wireless Power and Charging Standard to further enable the adoption and interoperability of radio frequency (RF) as a power source in addition to data communications.

In partnership, Atmosic and Energous endorse the new AirFuel Alliance standard, which opens RF wireless power technology "over the air" to various new markets and future applications and use cases.

With the AirFuel Alliance RF Wireless Power and Charging Standard, the intelligent transfer of power allows multiple devices to be charged and/or powered simultaneously, without the need for precise placement — or even contact — with the power source.

As stated by a press release:

Beyond the elimination of batteries, the sustainability of the solution is also improved by keeping the power transmitter activity to a minimum through the RF control protocol defined by the AirFuel standard. As engineers look to create more aesthetically pleasing and ergonomically effective designs, removing the bulk size and design constraints necessary to support batteries increases the flexibility in product offerings for industrial IoT, healthcare, and retail applications.

The partners said the new evaluation kit aims to solve cost and maintenance challenges by creating a wireless IoT sensor solution that can operate battery-free, eliminating the need for expensive battery replacement, while also enabling power control to minimize the transmitter’s power to only what is needed by the sensors.

The new evaluation kit features two Bluetooth LE RF harvesting sensors that transmit real-time temperature, humidity, and acceleration data, as well as control the power from the WattUp transmitter while operating from energy harvested at distances of several meters.

Specifically, the following components are included in the Wirelessly Powered Sensor Evaluation Kit:

• Atmosic Energy Harvesting Sensor Modules (2)
• Energous 1W WattUp PowerBridge Transmitter (1)
• Mobile Application for Sensor Monitoring and Transmitter Control

Atmosic and Energous are exhibiting the platform at CES 2023.

QUOTES

“It’s fantastic to see the early adoption of the new RF standard. Atmosic and Energous are furthering the effort of improving sustainability and cutting down on costs and waste within the wireless industry with the upgraded evaluation kit.”

-- Dr. Sanjay Gupta, president and chairman of AirFuel Alliance

“The new RF standard from AirFuel Alliance aligns with Atmosic’s and Energous’ missions to reduce the reliance on batteries and build more sustainable options for advanced IoT deployments,” said . “We believe that standardization is essential for industry innovation and implementation, and offering the new standard in our Wirelessly-Powered Sensor Evaluation Kit marks a big step forward for current and future customers.”

-- David Su, CEO of Atmosic Technologies

“Energous strongly endorses the new AirFuel Alliance RF standard, the world’s first standard for wireless power transfer, which will elevate the technology to global recognition and open RF-based power to more markets. We have thus moved quickly to support the new standard in our Wirelessly Powered Sensor Evaluation Kit with Atmosic that provides our customers with the building blocks for WattUp wireless power networks and will help IoT deployments across the world meet the growing power needs of their devices.”