technology services: Qualcomm Halo wireless charging concept eyes-on

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Qualcomm Halo wireless charging concept eyes-on

Let's run through the fundamentals of wireless charging: floor-mounted electromagnets pump out EM waves to your EV's engine to absorb. This means ripping up the floor to install and precisely driving your whip over the exact spot. There's no efficiency loss between wireless and wired charging, in case you were wondering. We got to speak to Qualcomm's Joe Barrett as he walked us through the chip foundry's innovative approach to the technology that it picked up from the University of Auckland. The Halo is a 28mm plate that can reportedly push 3.3kW/h to your vehicle without requiring it to park it precisely over the unit. The company's not talking about vertical range, but did insist that it would charge an SUV, so we can assume it'll travel at least a foot off the ground. The company is planning to foster an open standard for the technology through licensing and has joined the three-year design cycle that modern cars undergo -- with an expectation that we'll see the first commercial models of the technology surfacing in 2014, which you can just lay on the floor of your garage. A 50 unit trial led by Chargemaster and Polar is currently underway under the names of your favorite tier-one automaker.

Gallery: Qualcomm Halo wireless charging eyes-on