Powermat Technologies

Powermat Technologies Ltd. is a developer of wireless power solutions for consumers, OEM and public places. The company licenses IP, sells charging spots to public venues and the software to support their maintenance, management and consumer interaction. The company's inductive charging technology has been adopted by the Power Matters Alliance (PMA) and is the platform adopted by Duracell, General Motors, Starbucks and AT&T.[1]

Powermat
TypePrivately held company
IndustryConsumer electronics
wireless charging
Founded2006 (2006)
HeadquartersPetah Tikva, Israel
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Ran Poliakine (Founder), Elad Dubzinski (CEO), Dan Stone (Chairman of the Board)
Number of employees
100 (2013)
Websitepowermat.com

Products

Powermat products include both receivers (Rx) and Transmitters (Tx) for the mobile industry, consumers and public venues. It also licenses its technology, which enables compliance with the AirFuel (formally PMA) and the Qi standard. Additionally, the company offers a software service system to allow venue owners to control and manage the wireless power network they had installed - consists of charging spots and a gateway. Mobile application named Powermat is an interface for users providing wireless power locations indication.

Wireless power network of charging spots controlled from the cloud, enables control and management of the wireless power service in the public place by its owner.

Technology
High level illustration of Powermat Technologies inductive wireless charging system.

The company's technology is based upon Inductively Coupled Power Transfer. As the block diagram shows, within a Transmitter (Tx) - by varying the current in the primary induction coil - an alternating magnetic field is generated from within a charging spot. The receiver (Rx) is a second induction coil in the handheld device that takes power from the magnetic field and converts it back into electric current to charge the device battery. An additional part of the technology is the System Control Communication: Data over Coil (DoC) – the Rx sends feedback to Tx by changing the load seen by the Tx coil. The protocol is frequency based signaling, thus enables fast response of the transmitter. Each receiver is equipped with a unique ID (RxID), enabling the system, when installed in public venues, to recognize users and communicate with them. The RxID is communicated as part of the data over coil to the Tx.

History

The company was founded in 2006 by Ran Poliakine. Its first products were launched in 2009. In 2011 General Motors announced that it would integrate Powermat's wireless charging technology into certain vehicles in its 2013 Chevrolet Volt line, and would also invest in the private company.[2] During that year Powermat also partnered with Leyden Energy, manufacturer of advanced lithium-imide (Li-imide) batteries, in order to develop wireless chargeable batteries,[3] as well as with Arconas, provider of public seating, to incorporate wireless charging directly into airport seating and lounge areas. The first integration with airports included: Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Aspen–Pitkin Airport, Eppley Airfield in Omaha and Toronto Pearson International Airport.[4] Powermat and Procter & Gamble created a joint venture, under the Duracell Powermat brand.[5] The venture began operations in January 2012. The entertainer Jay-Z signed on as the "face and voice" of the venture, and took an equity stake in the company. As part of a partnership with Madison Square Garden, the arena features Duracell Powermat charging surfaces in a number of suites and other areas, beginning in mid-2012,[6] in addition the Duracell Powermat charging spots were embedded in Jay-Z's 40/40 Club NYC club tables.[7] A year later, Powermat Technologies along with Procter & Gamble founded the Power Matters Alliance (PMA), an alliance of semiconductor and consumer electronics industries as well as governmental organizations. The alliance dedication is to advance smart and environmental wireless power. AT&T and Starbucks are board members and among its members are: Samsung, LG, HTC, BlackBerry, Huawei, ZTE, Texas Instruments, STMicroelectronics, Broadcom, Fairchild Semiconductor, Freescale, IDT, Otterbox, Incipio and Skech.

In October 2012, Powermat and Starbucks announced a pilot program to install Powermat charging surfaces in the table tops in 17 locations around Boston area. The technology is consistent with Starbucks' environment friendly guidelines.[8] As the pilot was completed, in July 2013, Starbucks decided to bring the Powermat's wireless charging tech to additional locations in the Silicon Valley.[9] Powermat announced it had acquired Powerkiss, a provider of integrated wireless charging solutions. Powerkiss had deployed wireless charging hot spots across Europe, founded in 2008 and headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. In November 2013 the company announced a deployment at some Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf locations. Additional Powermat systems are installed at McDonald's restaurants in New York City and in select locations in Europe.[10] In January 2014, the company, together with Flextronics, agreed to cooperate in order to embed wireless power in electronic mobile devices.[11] In March 2015, Samsung included wireless charging embedded in the Galaxy S6 series.[12] In June 2015, Powermat together with Dupont launched a Dupont Corian charging surface bringing innovation into the surfacing solutions world.[13] In January 2016, Powermat rolled out and installed at 150 Starbucks Chicago stores.[14] In December 2016, Elad Dubzinski was appointed Company Chief Executive Officer.

In September 2017, Apple held its annual Keynote event, and announced that the new iPhone lineup (iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X) will have inductive wireless charging (Qi standard).[15] This announcement had a significant effect on the wireless charging market, and Powermat was quick to announce that all existing Charging Spots will be compatible with Qi in order to support the iPhone users.[16] A few months later, during the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) which took place in early January, Powermat announced joining the Wireless Power Consortium, developer of the Qi standard [17] and announced the groundbreaking SmartInductive technology.[18] During September 2018, Powermat HQ moved to a new office in the city of Petah Tikva, Israel.

References
  1. Honig, Zach (May 21, 2013). "Powermat acquires PowerKiss, plans European wireless charging rollout". Engadget.com.
  2. Woodyard, Chris (January 6, 2011). "GM-Powermat deal turns cars into cordless chargers". USA Today. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  3. "Battery Maker Leyden Energy Announces Pact With Powermat". January 10, 2012.
  4. Belic, Dusan (January 9, 2011). "Arconas, Powermat team-up to bring wireless charging to airports". intomobile.com.
  5. "Duracell, wireless power company Powermat team up". Yahoo!. September 14, 2011.
  6. "Jay-Z is new face of wireless charging". USA Today. January 9, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  7. "Duracell Powermat wants to turn NYC into a wireless-charging hot spot". techhive.com. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  8. "Boston-area Starbucks testing wireless smartphone charging; Starbucks, Google and AT&T back PMA standard". Endgadget.com. October 29, 2012.
  9. Honig, Zach (July 26, 2013). "Starbucks and Powermat bring wireless charging to select Silicon Valley shops". Engadget.com. https://www.engadget.com/2013/07/26/powermat-starbucks-silicon-valley/♙
  10. Lidston, Rory (November 12, 2013). "Duracell Powermat Wireless Charging Comes to The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf". The green Technology World.
  11. "New Hook-Up Aims to Boost Wireless Charging". The Wall Street Journal. January 16, 2014.
  12. Garzon, Juan (March 6, 2015). "Samsung to carry on with key wireless charging standard". CNET.
  13. Strietelmeier, Julie (June 15, 2015). "DuPont™ Corian® Charging Surface technology brings wireless charging to countertops". the gadgeteer.
  14. Marotti, Ally (January 8, 2016). "Starbucks rolls out wireless phone charging at 150 Chicago stores". Chicago Tribune.
  15. Ranj, Brandt (September 18, 2017). "Apple's latest iPhones all support wireless charging — here's how wireless charging works". Business Insider.
  16. Gartenberg, Chaim (September 14, 2017). "Starbucks is updating its wireless chargers to support the iPhone X and iPhone 8". The Verge.
  17. Adams, Matt (January 8, 2018). "Powermat joins WPC, no longer competing with Qi on wireless charging". Android Authority.
  18. Stoylar, Brenda (January 4, 2018). "Powermat's Charging Spot 4.0 is compatible with more devices, easier to install". Digital Trends.
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