How Wireless Power Transforms Modern Workspace

Wire-Free Offices: How Wireless Electricity Can Transform The Modern Workplace The CEO of a company I used to work for was obsessed with having a pristine and tidy office. Whether it was equipment, boxes, or books, everything had to be exactly where it should be. And quite right, too: an organized, uncluttered office reflects efficiency and productivity.  One of her biggest bugbears, though, was the ‘VPL’ or visible power line — wires and cables had to be tucked away. However, with the modern office needing so many devices to be plugged in, cable management can be a challenge as well as expensive.

This is where our wireless power technology comes into its own, enabling devices to be placed exactly where they need to be without fear of unsightly, trailing cables.  

Clear thinking

This proved to be exactly the case for the Springfield, Virginia-based signage company, FASTSIGNS. The company was tasked by one of its clients to provide displays for its offices to indicate meeting-room availability. However, this wasn’t as easy as it sounded — the offices were almost entirely glass-walled, so using power cables would mean running unsightly wires along the glass, ruining the aesthetics.  

Our Wi-Spot displays were the perfect answer. Powered over the air by wireless electricity beamed from ceiling transmitters, FASTSIGNS was able to mount Wi-Spots on every meeting room door without a cable in sight:  a safe, clean, modern solution. It also freed the client from ever having to worry about the cost and hassle of recharging or replacing batteries.

The client didn’t even need to change the way it did things. As with all our products, our cloud-based solution was easily integrated into its preferred workplace management software platform of choice, in this case, Robin and Envoy.

New possibilities

This is just one real-world example of how Wi-Charge is changing the modern office. Wireless electricity, delivering usable amounts of power at a distance, opens up a range of possibilities.  

Let’s say it’s your first day at a new company, and naturally, you’re nervous and excited. You’re introduced to everyone on the team but it’s a blur of faces and there’s a lot to take in — but when you arrive at your new desk, you raise a smile. Next to your shiny new laptop, there’s a small video display elegantly resting on your desk showing a friendly “Welcome to the team!” message along with all the information you need to get yourself quickly set up, such as your login credentials, Wi-Fi password and the cafeteria menu for the day.  However, you notice that the display isn't plugged in, and no unsightly cables are hanging off the back. Interesting...

Of course, a welcome message written by hand would be lovely, but when your new boss is on the other side of the world for a conference, it’s not always going to be possible. Wouldn’t it be great if it could all be automated as part of the company’s new starter process?  

Sure, all the relevant information can be put into an email or PDF, but unless you send it out to their personal email first, you’re going to have to resort to paper— and aren’t we trying to keep company information secure and also cut down on cutting down trees?   

This is just one possible use-case for our Wi-Spot, available in five-, seven-, or nine-inch sizes.

A classy welcome

How about important clients coming to the office? If you’re set up for wireless electricity, our high-quality six-color 31-inch Wi-Poster could display an impressive welcome message, complete with their company logo, right where they can see it, rather than unnoticed on the display on the wall. The Wi-Poster is even available double-sided, so you could have a goodbye message in place for when they return to exit the building.  

Monitor performance  

Our Wi-Spot would be perfect for monitoring team performance in real-time, be it the number of support tickets answered that day or the latest stock prices. Instead of fitting a screen on the wall and getting power to it, a Wi-Spot could sit at the end of your desk. If you want to pick it up and take it with you to a meeting, you can.  

Friendly communication

Wi-Spots and Wi-Posters could be a great way of getting out company messages in an engaging and friendly format. You could place them in office kitchens or break-out rooms to publicize birthday announcements, reminders of upcoming company events, or the employee of the week. You could even have videos demonstrating the latest company product or success.  

Smart and sustainable

Many companies now employ smart access systems for staff and maintenance workers to gain access to offices without having to issue physical keys, whether traditional or electronic. This means either going to the expense of hardwiring them into power or budgeting for the maintenance cost of regularly changing or recharging.  All of that goes away with wireless power, as once in line-of-sight of our transmitter, the lock is effectively hardwired. This isn’t merely speculative: you can buy a Wi-Charge-ready smart lock from Alfred today! With the Alfred ML2, you could eliminate the cost in time and money of dealing with battery replacement and, in addition, prevent thousands of batteries from hitting landfills. Yes, the dolphins will love you.  

In the event of an office move, you’ll appreciate Wi-Charge even more, as the displays and the transmitters can come with you with no loss of sunk costs.  

 

In this post, we’ve described several ways that Wi-Spot, Wi-Poster, and the Alfred smart lock can make a difference in today’s office. Yes, of course, you could do these things with conventional displays, but do you want the hassle of getting power to them with the inelegance of trailing cables? 

And there are still more possibilities that our wireless AirCord technology could make real.  

You could have wireless charging pads that are, actually, truly wireless, with no need for them to be limited to a nearby cable.  

And what if your smartphone was wirelessly powered, charging just by having it on your desk? That low-battery fear when you left the office would be a thing of the past.  

And how about your cordless desktop mouse and keyboard? With wireless power, you could say goodbye to having to scrabble around for a cable when you get the low-power warning just before that important presentation.  

Equally, you could ditch the batteries in the motorized blinds in the boardroom, reducing maintenance costs, and you could finally choose to put the printer where you want it to be rather than where the power plugs dictate it has to go.  

So, if you’re excited about how our technology could improve your office or about how our technology could help you make your product even better, feel free to get in touch now — we’d love to talk to you.