Xiaomi has announced “Mi Air Charge Technology,” a wireless charging system that the company claims is able to charge devices “within a radius of several meters.” Multiple devices can be charged at 5W at the same time, according to Xiaomi, and physical obstacles apparently don’t reduce charging efficiency.

Xiaomi says the technology will also work with smartwatches and fitness bracelets. Another goal is to make “living rooms truly wireless,” with speakers, lamps, and smart home devices all being powered by the same remote system. A Xiaomi representative confirms to The Verge, however, that no commercial products will include the technology this year, and declined to provide a timeframe for release. [1]

Figure 1. Xiaomi - Mi Air Charge Technology

Figure 1 shows Xiaomi’s remote charging technology works on space positioning and energy transmission principles. For this new tech, Xiaomi has developed an isolated charging pile that has five phase antennas built-in to accurately detect the location of the device that needs to be charged. It also has a phase control array of 144 antennas that transmits mm-wide waves. [2]

Beamforming is a technique that focuses signals from a broadcast antenna towards a specific receiving device. So the signals do not spread in all directions, and it results in a faster and more reliable connection than it would be without the beamforming technique. [2]

Features:

• Xiaomi’s Mi Air Charge claims to charge multiple devices “within a radius of several meters” and even with physical obstacles. Xiaomi says that this technology will also work with smartwatches and fitness bracelets.
• Another goal is to make “living rooms truly wireless,” with speakers, lamps, and smart home devices all being powered by the same remote system. A Xiaomi spokesperson has confirmed to The Verge, that no commercial products will include the technology this year, and declined to provide a timeframe for release.
• The transmitter can provide a 5W charge wirelessly to a smartphone.
• Xiaomi has developed an in-house isolated charging pile with a phase control array that consists of 144 antennas transmitting millimeter-wide waves. These waves go directly to the smartphone that requires charging through beamforming. The charging pile also carries five-phase interference antennas to understand the location of the smartphone.

To enable the new Mi Air Charge wireless charging experience, the smartphones are required to be outfitted with a “miniaturized antenna array with built-in ‘beacon antenna’ and ‘receiving antenna array’.” The signal is converted into electric energy through a rectifier circuit. Beacon antenna broadcasts position information with low power consumption. The receiving antenna array composed of 14 antennas converts the millimeter-wave signal emitted by the charging pile into electric energy through the rectifier circuit, to turn the sci-fi charging experience into reality. [3]

References:

1. Xiaomi says its ‘Air Charge’ technology works over several meters - The Verge
2. Xiaomi Mi Air Charge Technology Explained: How Does It Work and Is It Harmful? (gadgetstouse.com)
3. Xiaomi Introduces - 'MI Air Charge Technology' - Adbell Media

Cite this article:

Thanusri swetha J (2021), Xiaomi - Mi Air Charge Technology, pp. 14