Seattle based WiBotic announces that it has completed all of the testing and secured CE Mark approval for two of its wireless charging solutions. WiBotic is one of a handful of wireless charging solution providers and acquiring CE Mark approval opens the door for WiBotic to sell their solution into the European Economic Area. Prior to this, WiBotic has already received Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approvals for selling solutions in the United States.

WiBotic’s systems were also evaluated and found in compliance with the requirements of the International Electrotechnical Commission’s (IEC) directives for the EU and Canada’s CSA Group standards organization. Key parameters that were tested across all agencies include radiated emissions, harmonic emissions, AC conducted emissions, RF immunity, RF exposure, and overall product safety.

WiBotic charging solutions come in a variety of sizes and power capabilities. They are primarily designed to meet the needs of aerial drones, ground-based mobile platforms (like AMRs and AGVs) and also for marine-based solutions. Wireless charging enables non-contact power transfer from a power source, to an autonomous drone or mobile robot. WiBotic solutions also enable a facility to unify device changing to a single wireless charging interface and eliminate proprietary contact-based charging interface.

For example, if you are responsible for a heterogeneous fleet of autonomous mobile robots in a warehouse or retail space, then your fleet of solutions might include: floor scrubbers, intra-logistics solutions, goods-to-person solutions, inventory robots and security robots. All of these devices are likely to come from different suppliers, and require the use of individual, proprietary changing stations. With WiBotic wireless charging solutions, you can unify the charging needs for your entire fleet and reduce the clutter and space requirements for a variety of charging stations.

The two WiBotic systems which received CE Marks include: 

• WiBotic’s TR-301 transmitter with OC-301 onboard charger (operating at 300 Watts), and 
• WiBotic’s TR-301 transmitter with OC-251 onboard charger (operating at 250 Watts). 

WiBotic’s systems were also evaluated and found in compliance with the requirements of the International Electrotechnical Commission’s (IEC) directives for the EU and Canada’s CSA Group standards organization. Key parameters that were tested across all agencies include radiated emissions, harmonic emissions, AC conducted emissions, RF immunity, RF exposure, and overall product safety.

“CE Marks represent a major product milestone for us at WiBotic,” said Ben Waters, CEO. “Completing the rigorous testing requirements takes a great deal of time and effort, yet it’s an incredibly important process, as it further validates that our systems meet the highest possible standards for safety and reliability. We also recently completed FCC approval in the U.S., so our systems are compliant with reputable regulatory agencies within many countries around the world. This, in turn, opens several exciting partnership and deployment opportunities for us across Europe, Canada, and beyond. Requirements for robot safety standards and certifications have also evolved significantly over the past five years. We hope that these certifications help our partners and the entire robotics industry scale up quickly to avoid the complex and costly bottlenecks of pursuing certifications on their own.”

WiBotic’s wireless charging systems

The TR-301 is WiBotic’s high power transmitter, with the ability to transmit up to 300 Watts into a wide range of applications. Most often used for larger drones, mobile robots and marine vehicles, the TR-301 can be used in the WiBotic PowerPad (or other landing pads), or as a wall station for mobile robot charging. 

The TR-301’s metal enclosure includes flanges for easy wall mounting, an LCD display for system messages, and LED indicator lights to show system status at all times. A standard transmitter antenna attaches via a short coaxial cable for flexible mounting options, and a built-in Ethernet port allows external systems to monitor and control the transmitter using WiBotic’s web-based API or Wibotic Commander for fleet energy management.

The TR-301 supports both the OC-251 and OC-301 onboard chargers, which mount on the drone or robot to control battery charging when the vehicle lands or docks.  The products can be retrofitted to existing robots by end users, or built into new models by robot manufacturers, offering European customers a flexible high power wireless charging system complete with CE Marks. The onboard chargers are compatible with most types of battery chemistries and are fully programmable between 0-60V and 0-30A (OC301) or 0-12A (OC251). The onboard chargers also support manual plug-in charging or autonomous contact-based charging by utilizing their auxiliary DC power input. The onboard chargers can communicate to the drone or robot using CANbus.