Is wireless power transfer the future for aircraft cabin interiors?

Is wireless power transfer the future for aircraft
cabin interiors?
To date, over 60 models of mobile phone have wireless charging built in and over 120 million
devices enabled for wireless charging are expected to sell in 2015. So how long will it be
before every aircraft seat has to have wireless charging before someone will pay to sit in it?
Wireless Power Transfer and Charging
The Take Up So Far
For the last 20 years or so, we have all become accustomed to
the battery symbol turning red and having to reach for the
power adaptor and plug it in, but things are changing, and fast.
Wireless charging is a growing technology which is expanding
fast. Over 60 phone models ship with built in wireless charging
as standard, including phones by Google Nexus, HTC,
Blackberry, Nokia, Sony and LG to name a few. So where will
wireless charging ‘hot spots’ be found?
Transferring power without the use of wires isn’t new, but a standard
governing wireless power transfer is emerging and the technology is
sufficiently small, compact, and effective that it can be incorporated into
hand held electronic devices.
Wireless power transfer relies on a transmitter coil being brought close to
a coil in the device to be charged. Alternating currents that flow in the
transmitting coil will induce a current in the receiving coil. This is what
makes effective transfer of power through the air possible.
The emerging standard that is ensuring compatibility between a broad
range of devices is the Wireless Power Consortium Qi standard. Originally
for low power devices up to 5W (ideal for charging a phone) it is now
expanded to 120W for laptops and will grow to much higher powers in the
near future.
© Cobalt Aerospace Ltd. 2015
In addition to being able to buy countless personal charging pads to scatter
around the home, the technology is being made available in a variety of
contexts:




Virgin Atlantic Airways will install Qi Hot Spots in London Heathrow
Airport and JFK Airport
Tulsa Airport has them installed already
Coffee shops are installing them
Car maker Lexus is installing them
Clearly this technology is spreading in much the same way as the use of
electronic devices in-flight is growing. There are many airlines looking to
use tablets in place of conventional IFE and it seems wireless charging is a
logical next step for in-flight use.
Page: 2
The Advantages of Wireless Transfer
Wireless power transfer for charging or other purposes requires
no physical connection to the device being powered or charged
and this eliminates plug/socket incompatibility and the
possibility of wear and tear on the power socket. What other
benefits are there?
Requiring no plug and socket means that charging hot spots can be hidden
beneath thin skins or veneers. An arm rest, tray table or bar surface can
‘magically’ charge your device without any adjustment to the external
appearance of the feature or surface. The benefits include reducing
maintenance and enhancing customer in-flight experience.
Cobalt Aerospace combined USB and Qi wireless charger in economy seatback
compatible form. A phone is simply placed behind the elastic mesh to charge.
The technology can also be applied to large mobile items of equipment
that require power, for example, a galley cart. Currently such galley carts
have to be wheeled into position and carefully plugged into a vulnerable
power outlet to charge. With wireless charging it would be possible to
charge the cart simply by wheeling it into position back in the galley,
without the need to align a plug and socket for docking and thereby
eliminating the associated wear and tear on power connectors.
So Is This The Future?
These are just a few of the ways that wireless charging can improve the
customer experience, improve operational flexibility and reduce
maintenance burden for operators.
This view is supported by the growing prevalence of in-flight Wi-Fi which
drives the use of personal electronic devices and therefore the need to
charge them in-flight. As people become accustomed to coffee shops and
airports having wireless charging hotspots, it will become the expectation
that they are available at their seat whilst on-board.
The number of devices expected to be sold in 2015 that will be
enabled for wireless charging is over 120 million. The
technology works, and the likes of Apple have taken it up for
their iWatch.
We have developed Cobalt ‘Unplugged’ to provide wireless charging for
commercial aircraft and meet this growing need.
© Cobalt Aerospace Ltd. 2015
Page: 3
About Cobalt Aerospace
Cobalt Aerospace is a supplier of design and production services and is an
Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).
We provide products and services to airlines, design organisations, OEMs,
integrators and VIP aircraft completion centres throughout the world as
well as designing, certifying and manufacturing our own product range for
retrofit to commercial and military aircraft under a variety of STC and
minor change certifications.
Our experience encompasses a wide range of fixed wing and rotorcraft
such as:







Airbus A320 family, A330, A340, A380
ATR 42 and 72 series
AW109 variants and other ‘role’ helicopters
Boeing 737NG family, 747-8, 777, 787-9, BBJ
Bombardier CRJ and Q series
Embraer E-jet family
McDonell Douglas MD-80 and MD-90 series
For further information:
www.cobaltaerospace.com
web@cobaltaerospace.com
+44 (0)1603 327757
© Cobalt Aerospace Ltd. 2015
Page: 4
© Cobalt Aerospace Ltd. 2015
Page: 5