Many of us have pictured a future where mobile phones and electronic devices no longer require a cable. For example, imagine a business trip where your PC, smartphone and digital camera required no cables at all. Today, when we travel on business we finish the workday and then head to the hotel room, where our first action is to plug in all of our devices, struggling to find enough power outlets and leaving our room a mass of cables. Just looking at these cables hanging off the tables and desks makes the hotel room feel smaller and increases the fatigue we feel at the end of the day.

We can eliminate this issue at a stroke with wireless power supply (non-contact charging). For example, simply placing the smartphone or portable device on top of the charger is enough, there is no need for any cable to plug in and connect to a power supply. In the absence of cables, it becomes easier to travel light for business, as well as allowing vendors to manufacture smaller, thinner portable devices that do not require cable ports, etc.

Currently, there are around 3,500 locations around Japan where mobile devices can be charged wirelessly, and this number is due to increase going forward, whereupon this technology will become ubiquitous. On the other hand, if this technology is allowed to proliferate into other areas of our lives, such as the kitchen, we will see the rapid adoption of cordless devices throughout the home. At the CEATEC booth visitors can learn more about the Wireless Power Consortium, which established the dedicated working group in March 2013 to define the specifications for cordless kitchen appliances.

An image of a wireless power supply apparatus

Qi is the name we give to a set of global standards for wireless power supply. Any portable device sporting the Qi logo can be charged using a Qi wireless charging stand. As Qi has been established as a set of global standards, this means a device with the Qi logo can be wirelessly charged anywhere in the world.

One of the missions of the WPC is to establish Qi as a robust set of international standards. So far (as of October 2014) over 200 companies worldwide (including 22 Japanese companies) have signed up to membership of the WPC, covering some 700 different types of devices that are already in development. WPC is working towards its goals of a world where devices can be charged without cables/wirelessly whenever/wherever, regardless of the manufacturer or brand.