RF Wireless Charging Standard For Long-Range Power
AirFuel® RF is a wireless power specification that uses radio frequencies (RF) to enable charging of multiple devices simultaneously within a three-dimensional range, delivering true freedom of movement.
AirFuel RF, a contactless power transfer technology, creates zones of power wherein energy can be harvested for use by devices. The new AirFuel RF standard opens wireless power technology to many new markets and applications. Multiple devices across an array of applications can be powered simultaneously several feet from the power source without the need for precise placement, eliminating the need for wires or the hassle of maintaining batteries.
Are you ready to build with the latest in RF wireless power?
Benefits of RF Wireless Charging
Transfer Power At a Distance
POWER MULTIPLE DEVICES AT ONCE
Enables Battery-Free Devices
Stable Ambient energy
Scalable deployment
Sealed from the Elements
Applications and Use-Cases
DEPLOY AIRFUEL RF
AirFuel Alliance® enables companies to provide cutting edge wireless charging experiences for their customers through access to the world’s leading wireless charging standards, training and development tools.
EXPLORE
Learn more about AirFuel RF through our case studies, articles, podcast, and webinars
BUILD
Become a member to access the technical specification
Attend our AirFuel Certified Engineer Program to accelerate product development
LAUNCH
Integrate AirFuel RF into your products, collaborate with our partners, and go to market
GET STARTED
Interested in building with AirFuel RF? Schedule a meeting with Sanjay Gupta, President of AirFuel Alliance, to discuss your products and next steps.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What are the benefits of AirFuel RF?
AirFuel RF is the perfect choice for large scale, low power deployments where cable and battery elimination, placement flexibility, and maintenance avoidance are key considerations.
- Facilitates contactless power transfer
- Powers devices up to several meters from the transmitting source
- Supports large scale deployments of hundreds or thousands of target devices in ambient energy zones
- Is flexible, powering a wide variety of sensors and devices simultaneously
- Eliminates expensive battery maintenance or battery disposal for end devices
- Enables sealed devices that are environmentally robust (eg – water ingress)
- More sustainable, environmentally friendly, affordable and practical than wiring or batteries
How far away can a receiver be from a transmitter to power up with AirFuel RF?
The answer depends on how much power you need. The further away from the transmitter the device, the more the RF energy is scattered and harder to harvest. But you can typically provide low power to devices several meters away from the transmitter – as opposed to a ‘close contact’ wireless charger associated with mobile phones that can only provide power to devices precisely placed mere millimeters away.
How much power can I transfer using AirFuel RF?
As with all RF based products, regional regulations and frequencies determine the technical limitations for wireless power transfer, but the AirFuel RF specification is designed for up to +30dBm transmitters.
How is AirFuel RF different from the wireless charging puck I already use for my phone?
AirFuel RF is quite different from the charging pad you use today. The first major difference is range. AirFuel RF is intended to be contactless for longer range power transfer at lower power levels. AirFuel RF transmitters create an ambient energy field that delivers reliable low level energy to a wide range of devices like IoT sensors, wearables, computer peripherals and more. This allows you to power multiple end devices that can move around within an area – none of which need to touch the transmitter or be in close proximity to receive power.
This allows you to power multiple end devices that can move around within an area – none of which need to touch the transmitter or be in close proximity to receive power.
How can I get training and support to deploy AirFuel RF in a product?
With the launch of our AirFuel RF standard, AirFuel Alliance is offering ACE (AirFuel Certified Engineer) training to help you learn how to integrate RF wireless power into your products. This hands-on program for engineers, led by industry experts in AirFuel RF technology, will take a deep-dive into technical details with each participant leaving with a working reference design to integrate into your prototypes and concepts.
Why should I follow the AirFuel RF standard and get products certified?
Standards and certifications bring a number of benefits to both the developer and user: First and foremost, the solution is heavily tested in multiple applications and market segments. Developers don’t need to spend time and dollars inventing a solution that “might” work. A standard offers a form of crowd source real-life test and development that speeds your time to market and reduces the complexity and cost of deployment.
Interoperability is also a key benefit of standardization. For example, a developer can develop a new product knowing that the device can be powered by other companies’ transmitter – the developer doesn’t need to build both sides of the solution.
What applications are ideal for AirFuel RF?
Large scale deployments of low power devices are ideal for AirFuel RF. Some examples include:
- Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs) and retail
- IoT devices and sensors
- Shipping, logistics and asset management
- Temperature, humidity and tolerance monitoring
- Smart Home sensors
- Wearables
- Computer peripherals
- Drone and robotic sensors
- Industrial sensors for factories and warehouses
What happens as a device gets farther away from the AirFuel RF power transmitter?
The amount of power that can be received will decrease as the distance from the power source increases. For RF wireless power transfer operating in the far field, this power decrease is governed by the inverse square law (though it may vary depending on the environment).
Can I power devices with AirFuel RF and do away with batteries entirely?
It depends on the application. If the application requires very little power, then yes – it can operate completely battery-free. But if an application requires a lot of power to be transmitted, maybe not. In some applications RF energy can be used to charge batteries (or some other form of energy storage) when not being used to directly power the product itself. In such a scenario a single rechargeable battery can last the lifetime of a product acting as a buffer reservoir, as opposed to many non-rechargeable batteries over the lifetime of the product acting as the only power source.
Can AirFuel RF be used to charge batteries - or only power devices wirelessly?
AirFuel RF’s long range contactless operation means that our solution can be used to both power and/or charge low-power products. Sensors, actuators and beacons can often be wirelessly powered with no battery. In other applications, RF energy can be used to charge batteries instead of directly powering the device. In such a scenario a single rechargeable battery can last the lifetime of a product, as opposed to many non-rechargeable batteries acting as the only power source. In other higher power applications (similar to mobile phone charging you may be familiar with), a device may need to touch or be very close to the RF power source making it an option when ‘doing away with the wire’ is the goal as opposed to distance charging.
In other higher power applications (similar to mobile phone charging you may be familiar with), a device may need to touch or be very close to the RF power source making it an option when ‘doing away with the wire’ is the goal as opposed to distance charging.
What is the testing and certification process like for AirFuel RF?
We will be launching a comprehensive testing and certification program for products equipped with AirFuel RF in 2023. While we don’t have all the details yet, AirFuel Alliance is an experienced global standards organization with testing partners around the world and deep expertise in designing interoperable and uniform specifications and their corresponding certification programs. Watch for more information coming soon!
Is AirFuel RF safe for living organisms?
Yes. As with all RF based products used for wireless communications, regional regulations determine the technical limitations and the maximum transmit power for RF power transmitters. AirFuel RF power transmitters do also comply with the regional safety power transmission limits. Hence, an AirFuel RF power transmitter does not transmit more power compared to e.g. a WiFI wireless communications access point.
Is AirFuel RF sustainable and good for the environment?
Yes! Batteries, when depleted, end up in landfills at a rate of 100 batteries per second in the US alone. Each battery leaches toxic chemicals into the environment and consumes valuable energy, materials and space. Meanwhile radio energy is in the air around us every day, and nearly all of that energy is being wasted as it scatters around the environment.
AirFuel’s answer is the RF standard, a mechanism whereby RF energy can both be transmitted and harvested. A single source of RF power can be applied to numerous products to reduce our dependence on batteries and eliminate cords and wires.
TESTIMONIALS
“The frequency of AirFuel RF wireless charging provides the ideal balance of system cost, energy level, and transfer distance, while being built for safety and regulatory compliance.”
Giampaolo Marino
Vice President of Marketing & Business Development
Energous
“Introducing standards to wireless energy will help reduce the need for uncontrolled energy use and ensure that the number of wireless energy transmitters in a facility is optimized, further reducing waste and duplication.”
Nick Dutton
Senior Director of Product Marketing,
Atmosic
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