Dive Brief:
- Wi-Charge is rolling out a new wirelessly powered digital display solution to improve conference room booking solutions in office buildings, according to a news release Friday.
- The redesigned Wi-Spot 3.0 device allows users to install conference room displays, powered by wireless electricity, “anywhere in the office without drilling holes or running wires, making installations on glass, wood, sliding doors and other surfaces easier than ever,” Wi-Charge said in the release.
- Wi-Charge’s technology can power speakers, microphones and mobile devices as large as an iPad, opening up a range of use cases beyond digital displays, said Ori Mor, chief business officer at Wi-Charge.
Dive Insight:
Wi-Charge’s move into the office sector comes as owners and tenants continue to play catch up on today’s work patterns and flexible schedules, and reimagine how workspaces operate. Among the 89% of offices revamping their layouts to accommodate evolving employee needs, 58% are adding collaboration and huddle rooms, 54% are adding quiet rooms and booths, and 53% are adding hot desking capabilities, according to a 2023 report from workspace platform provider Robin.
Wi-Spot devices can help offices manage these flexible amenities, as well as traditional conference rooms and coworking spaces, Mor said.
The company’s 7-inch Wi-Spot displays can provide information on meeting room occupancy, company or office announcements and “engaging video content promoting company events and culture,” Wi-Charge said in its press release.
Wi-Spot displays are powered by Wi-Charge’s AirCord wireless charging technology, which took more than eight years to develop and generated more than 100 patents in the process, Mor said. The transmitter directs infrared beams over distances of 30 feet or more to thumb-sized receivers that can be embedded in Internet of Things and other electronic devices, according to Wi-Charge’s website. AirCord transmitters communicate through the cloud to allocate power to different assets based on the devices’ power requirements, power availability, battery level, customer-set priority level and other considerations, Wi-Charge says.
In current applications, AirCord transmitters can charge as many as six electronic devices and could power many more in theory, with the limiting factors being distance and sightlines rather than power capacity, Mor said.
The technology currently integrates with Google and Outlook calendars as well as Robin and Envoy workplace management applications through an API, which will easily enable additional third-party integrations if customers request them, Mor said.
Wi-Spot devices are already in use in convenience stores and other retail environments, and the technology shows promise for users in the hospitality, restaurant and healthcare industries in addition to offices, according to Mor.
Wi-Charge initially targeted the retail space for its Wi-Spot deployment efforts but “accidentally stumbled” into the office sector following a request from the manager of a Virginia flex-office facility to add wireless signage on its sliding glass conference-room doors, Mor said. Due to the positive outcome, the project was expanded to cover the entire building, according to Mor.
“That’s when we realized [the office use case] might have real value,” Mor said.
Wi-Charge then tapped the Michael Koch Group, which designs and develops commercial spaces, to raise awareness and drive adoption of the technology among its customers in the office, retail and hospitality industries, MKG owner Michael Koch said in an interview.
Wi-Charge is building “a technology backbone that needs industry experts from different fields to unleash it, and Michael is [an expert] in his space,” Mor said.
The company is still “exploring” pricing for its solutions, but the current price point is competitive with wired alternatives, Mor added. However, looking only at upfront product costs undersells the potential lifecycle savings from avoided installation in the short term and possible reconfiguration costs later on, compared with wired solutions, Koch said.
Wi-Charge’s technology greatly reduces the need for wiring — and the labor, planning and documentation that comes with it — in conference rooms and other office environments, Koch said. That means a simpler, faster and more cost-effective process of building out or renovating these spaces, which is especially important as more offices shift to flexible or shared spaces with shorter leases and multiple occupants, he added.
“You’re saving money you never realized you were going to save before,” Koch said.
