Electronics

Intel's wireless charging bowl to power up this year

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Intel's wireless charging bowl concept
Intel's wireless charging bowl concept
Krzanich introduces the bowl at CES 2014
The Mica smart bracelet could be ideal for bowl-based charging
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Intel CEO Brian Krzanich told the crowd during his closing keynote at MakerCon in New York on Thursday that the wireless charging bowl he showed off at CES 2014 would be hitting the market by the end of the year.

Krzanich said that the simple bowl, which seemed like another of the many wacky innovations seen at CES that never make it to market, was the item that drew the largest reaction from the conference.

He also shared the smart charging bowl's less than glamorous journey from concept to production, joking that a team simply bought a cheap bowl at Walmart that they then wired up. When it worked surprisingly well, they bought a slightly better bowl from Target and tried again. Eventually a custom bowl was designed that will go on sale soon.

The revelation that the wireless charging bowl lives comes on the heels of another Intel announcement that the chip maker's hardware will be at the center of the Mica, a new smart bracelet sold in partnership with fashion retailer Opening Ceremony. Krzanich said that the inspiration for the smart bowl came from a team member who would throw her jewelry in a bowl at the end of the day. Clearly, smart jewelry deserves a smart bowl in Krzanich's estimation.

The MIca collaboration was also announced at CES 2014. More on Intel's wireless charging ambitions here.

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3 comments
Bob Flint
So does the charge time increase as the bowel becomes dirty, or full of thirsty gadgets, and charge regulation?
Stervin
How does it work? What power does it generate? What electronics does it have in it? What is the bowl made of? What technology does it use? What sort of things can be charged in it? Do they need extra bits so that they can be charged in it? When is it going to be released? How much will it cost?
Apart from that, really comprehensive article.
Charles Bosse
Stervin, looks like it is using WiTricity. That means it won't work with your Qi devices, but will push more power with less interference in the long run. Now Intel just needs some buy in from dominant device manufacturers.