Wireless Power Consortium at Smart Kitchen Summit
At first, I thought it was a little strange that the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) would set up a table at the Smart Kitchen Summit. Then I thought about it and after talking to Dave Baarman at the booth, I now know why.
Wireless is invading our kitchen for many reasons.
Established in 2008, the Wireless Power Consortium is an open, collaborative standards development group of more than 500 member companies from around the globe. WPC’s member companies are large and small competitors and ecosystem partners representing brands from all parts of the industry and all parts of the globe. Members collaborate with a single purpose: worldwide compatibility of all wireless chargers and wireless power sources.
As wireless charging continues to evolve beyond consumer handheld devices, there are myriad of other new applications, such as laptops, tablets, drones, robots, connected car and the intelligent cordless kitchen. The WPC maintains and develops standards for a variety of different wireless power applications. It also is a big deal in the kitchen. Think safety and ease of use.
This includes:
The Qi standard, for smartphones and other portable mobile devices. Qi delivers up to 15W today. A future extension will also deliver up to 60W to enable laptop charging in addition to charging smartphones and other portable mobile devices with wide positioning freedom.
The Ki Cordless Kitchen standard, for kitchen appliances, for delivering up to 2,200W.
The Medium Power standard, a simple low-cost solution delivering 30 - 65W for power tools, robotic vacuum cleaners, e-bikes, and other battery-powered devices that don’t require compatibility with the Qi standard for mobile phones charging.
With more than 5000 different Qi Certified wireless charging products in the market, the WPC uses a network of independent authorized test labs around the globe that test specific properties for safety, interoperability, and usability.
The WPC lead in the way in policing the industry to make sure standards are met and also in terms of education. Wireless works, and it's not the wave of the future, it's here now and can be in your kitchen.
