Alliance for Wireless Power Achieves Major Milestone in Global Product Certification


The Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP), a consortium in flexible wireless power technology, has announced the successful completion of its latest Plugfest event, its second of three planned Plugfest events to demonstrate interoperability between different member company products that leverage A4WP’s technical specification.

During the most recent Plugfest, a total of 15 transmitting and receiving devices from seven member companies were put forward for testing. In every combination tested, wireless power transfer was successfully demonstrated throughout each of the testing days. The Plugfest event also hosted observers from six leading test labs in preparation for establishing a global product certification program for member companies.

“With this latest Plugfest event, the A4WP continues to prove the commercial readiness of its next generation wireless power specification,” said Dr. Kamil A. Grajski, president of A4WP. “The forthcoming launch of the A4WP global certification program is a critical enabler of a global next-generation wireless power ecosystem.”

In 2013 the wireless power industry has witnessed a shift from focusing on the existing first generation technology to the next generation resonant technology being implemented by A4WP members. While other associations are just now launching efforts to define a magnetic resonant specification, the commercial-ready A4WP specification is the only industry sponsored specification that is the basis for a series of soon to be released products.

Formed in May 2012, the A4WP is a global and independently operated consortium focused on bringing a more flexible wireless power technology to the consumer electronics, hospitality and automotive marketplaces. The A4WP has quickly grown to over 60 members including board companies Broadcom, Gill Electronics, IDT, Intel, Qualcomm, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Samsung Electronics.

The A4WP is currently on track to certify products (via implementation of the A4WP BSS Version 1.2 specification) that members are expected to debut in early 2014.