Broadcom Powers Up with Wireless Charging for Smartphones By: Sarah Murry Posted: May. 28, 2014 15 Show me a gadget-lover and I’ll show you his junk drawer: It’s likely overflowing with a tangled collection of wall chargers in all shapes and sizes. But that could be changing soon. The holy grail of true wireless battery charging — when device-toting consumers can unleash themselves from wall outlets, ditch all their disparate cables and charge their battery-run devices in the same spot — is just around the corner. For consumers and device-makers alike to get on board, industry experts say that above all else, wireless charging needs to have a seamless, nearly-effortless user experience — something that’s akin to the daily “pocket purge” when walking through the door. The average household has more than 10 different devices to charge, according to ABI Research. And that figure is set to rise as the wearables trend takes off and invites battery-powered connected fitness trackers, watches and more into homes. “At my house, I’m the guy who has to figure out which charger goes with which device,” said Reinier van der Lee, director of product marketing, mobile platforms at Broadcom. “There’s a real market need for a universal charging solution, and it should be wireless.” Broadcom first started talking about wireless charging at January’s Consumer Electronics Show, when the company demo’d some early reference designs with the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP), an industry trade group. Today, Broadcom unveiled an end-to-end wireless charging chipset that can usher in a new (cable-free) era where convenience is king. “The idea is to ‘drop-and-go’ so you don’t have to think about it,” van der Lee said. “There is a convenience factor that is not to be underestimated.” That “convenience factor” is at the heart of Broadcom’s design, which enables multiple devices with different power requirements (say, a tablet, smartphone and smartwatch) to charge at the same time, without worrying where they are placed on the charging area or whether there will be interference from other pocket loot such as keys and coins. Broadcom’s solution includes the BCM59350 wireless power receiver chip, called a power management unit, that’s set to be built into smartphones. This is paired with any of Broadcom’s leading combo connectivity systems-on-a-chip like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. These work together with a WICED™-Bluetooth Smart chip that goes into the charging surface — be it a special pad, a kitchen counter, a desktop or even a car console. Technology Standouts To get a little geeky, Broadcom’s wireless charging technology stands out in other ways. For one, Broadcom’s design optimizes efficiency to keep energy losses during the wireless transfer at a minimal level. It’s high-performance, meaning it’s designed to deliver the same amount of juice as a wired USB adapter in about the same amount of time. It also has a “boost mode” feature that helps devices power up even in situations where the magnetic charging field is weak. “That’s a unique feature for Broadcom that allows for the extension of the voltage range that the receiver can work within,” van der Lee said. “It would be useful in situations where you want to charge more devices than can physically fit in the charging area.” Multiple Standards These days, there are two different technologies (inductive vs. resonant) and three related technology standards for wireless charging. Each standard is backed by a different industry group, including the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) and the Alliance for Wireless Power. The A4WP late last year unveiled Rezence™, the consumer-facing brand name for its magnetic resonance charging technology. Each standards-setting body is backed by hundreds of consumer device makers and chip companies — including Broadcom. Learn more about Broadcom’s vision for wireless charging: Industry-watchers see the groups coalescing around a single standard sometime in the next year. But the revenue projections for wireless charging hardware — projected to grow forty-fold to more than $8 billion in the next five years, IHS data shows — won’t be slowed. That’s why Broadcom’s ready with a wireless charging chip that is designed to be standard-agnostic, so they can read and toggle between any of the existing standards behind the scenes. Coupled with Broadcom’s leadership in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo chip connectivity, this flexible approach enables device makers to easily add wireless charging support to their current smartphone platforms, accelerating their time-to-market with a compelling new feature. Broadcom, for its part, sees a bigger role for wireless charging beyond the home. It’s expected to crop up in cars and in public spaces like hotels, restaurants, airports and stores, where the business opportunities are vast. Related Story Up Close With Wireless Charging at CES For example, mobile advertisers could offer incentives or deals to customers while they are charging up. These offers have the potential to keep shoppers shopping while they wait for their smartphones to juice up. “With Bluetooth being the main connectivity channel between the wireless charger and the receiver, there is bandwidth to spare that can be used to transmit other information,” van der Lee said. “This technology has so many different advantages.” Read More: Broadcom and Other Tech Leaders Form IoT Consortium to Accelerate Interoperability for Connected Devices Video Demo: 5G WiFi Enables Real-Time Sports Location Tracking WICED™ Now Supports HomeKit Broadcom’s 5G WiFi Behind Meru’s Winning Wi-Fi Access Point Test Vijay Nagarajan in The Beacon: Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ ac: One Year in, Much to Celebrate Reinier van der Lee in Re/Code: “Cut the Cord for Good” « Previous Post Next Post » About the Author Sarah Murry Sarah Murry is a Web editor at Broadcom. She crosses the “t’s” and dots the “i’s” for Broadcom and Broadcom’s corporate blogs. She earned her reporter chops covering technology, business and trade… More
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 10:29:09 +0000