Cobalt Aerospace is seeing “phenomenal” interest from commercial airlines in what it says is the world’s first wireless mobile phone charging solution for aircraft interiors – and the company has its sights firmly set on securing linefit offerability for the units.
Each unit is small and light enough to be built into tray tables, arm rests or side ledges within the cabin. Passengers simply place their smartphones on the surface and, as if by magic, the device is charged without the need to plug it in.
The charging solution is certified and flying, as a retrofit addition, on VIP Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft – but Cobalt Aerospace president Dan Rust says that since unveiling the units at this year’s show he has seen “lots of interest” from commercial airlines.
“We had someone on the stand yesterday looking to retrofit 1,500 economy class seats [with the device],” says Rust, adding that “we’ve had Airbus over multiple times to talk about it”. Negotiations are ongoing with an unnamed potential commercial airline customer.
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“As far as I know, nobody else has a viable [wireless charging] product on the market at the moment.”
One seat manufacturer has integrated the units into its product and is “putting it through testing” with Airbus, in the hope of being able to build the solution into its seats in the factory. Rust says linefit offerability is “the way we want to go”.
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Samsung and Google Nexus phones already include the technology to communicate with Cobalt’s wireless charger and Rust says it is rumoured that the Apple iPhone 8 will follow suit.
Weighing in at 160g per unit, the devices are “comparable” with standard USB in-seat charging units, but they have the advantage of being more robust. “USB sockets get broken – children put bits of play-doh in them. With this, there’s nothing to break and you can’t get water on it,” says Rust.
Price-wise, he says that “if you’re buying a reasonable volume from us it’s about the same cost as a good quality USB charging unit”.
Source: Flight Daily News
