Wireless charging is still a bit of a hassle. You have to have the right charging plates for your phone and make sure you’re matching the same standards between devices. Intel showed off a proof of concept that allows you to place a phone anywhere on your wooden desk and charge your gadgets, and it wants to bring it to market in the next 12 months.
The new concept charges gadgets through magnetic resonance, rather than passing power directly through a surface.
Other wireless power standards that pass a current through a surface tend to heat up other objects like keys or sunglasses placed on them, but with the magnetic resonance technology, Intel has made it safe for other objects on your table.
The chip maker is relentlessly pursuing a wireless future, demonstrating the wireless power standards inside a Kokuyo desk.
Concept videos that the company showed off during their keynote show people getting back to their desk at work and throwing down their keys, notebooks and phones. The proof of concept it showed off at Computex this year pushes 5 Watts of power, which is only really enough for phones right now.
Intel isn’t about to stop at just charging phones wirelessly, however. Over the next two years, it wants to push up to 22 Watts through its wireless power plates, giving you the ability to fast-charge your tablet and phone, as well as your laptop.
Luke Hopewell travelled to Computex 2015 as a guest of Intel Australia.