A South Korean start-up company is developing a technology that allows Smartphones to exchange electric power between them through wireless connection and this is a new technology that transfers electric power that is received through wireless connection. Urgent priority is to develop modules and SoC (System on Chip) semiconductor that combines wireless charging transmitter and receiver.
MAPS (CEO Lee Joun) made an announcement on the 11th that it has started on a project that will develop MCU internal tri-mode wireless electric transmitting and receiving 1-chip SoC to manage electric power of portable Smart devices and applicable modules.
MAPS is going to invest $1.06 million (1.2 billion KRW) until December of 2018 for this national project from Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. MAPS, which is the company that is in charge of this project, will develop SoC while participating businesses such as KOMA-TECH and Dankook University will design transmitting and receiving modules and MCU (Micro-Controller) blocks respectively.
Main point of this project is to combine wireless electric transmitter and receiver. As of right now, transmitting chips and modules are installed in wireless chargers while receiving chips and modules are installed in electronic devices such as Smartphones. Chargers only supply electric power while electronic devices only receive electric power.
‘Combined chip’ that is being developed by MAPS will combine transmitters and receivers into single chip, which will transmit and receive electric power through wireless connection. This chip acts as a receiver while a device is charging and as a transmitter when it sends electric power to a different device. Charging modules have antenna coils that combine transmitting and receiving functions.
When this chip is developed, Smart devices can act as chargers. One can charge a Smartphone with a laptop and a Smart Watch with a Smartphone. This will create an environment where electric power can be exchanged easily between devices without any chargers. All electric power that is transmitted and received happens through wireless connection. Developing technologies that can control electric power that is transmitted and received and minimizing any worries about electromagnetic wave are tasks that need to be solved in the future.
Chips and modules are designed according to tri-mode. Tri-mode supports standards of both magnetic-induction and magnetic-resonance charging. Although magnetic-induction charging is a wireless charging method that is most generalized currently, it has limitations where a charger and a receiver need to be touched exactly and there has to be right surface material. If surface is made out of metal and if there are foreign substances between a charger and a receiver.
Magnetic-resonance wireless charging method, which is also called as a ‘non-contact method’, allows devices and chargers to be separated and uses any kind for surface material. Combined chip that supports both transmitting and receiving functions can be applied to variety of devices due to its characteristic. Due to these facts, it is necessary to implement tri-mode that supports magnetic-resonance wireless charging method. Goals of this project is to acquire maximum receiving power of 17W, effective charging distance of 10cm, and multi-mode motion success rate of 100%.
MAPS is the first business in the world to develop and produce magnetic resonance-type transmitting and receiving chips. It exported tri-mode chip, which supports both magnetic induction-type and magnetic resonance-type chips, to an American Smart Card manufacturer. By using its capabilities that it has been accumulating, it is going to lead in developing solutions that combine wireless electric transmitter and receiver.
“This is a project that will develop combined chips which is being attempted for the first time in the world.” said CEO Lee Jun. “If wireless charging on mobile devices become generalized, there are going to be demands from general ways of exchanging electric power between devices.”
Staff Reporter Song, Junyeong | songjy@etnews.com