This Company Created a Sticker That Adds Wireless Charging to Any Mobile Device

A French startup has created a thin sticker that can add wireless charging capabilities to nearly any mobile device.

The company, Energysquare, ran a successful Kickstarter campaign in May 2016, and is showing their technology at the CES 2017 trade show in Las Vegas this week. The startup said that it will begin shipping its products in the coming months.

The company’s product is a two-part system, consisting of a thin wireless charging pad and a small sticker that you stick to the back of your smartphone or mobile device. The sticker receives power from the charging pad through two small electrodes. It then charges via a small connector — there’s a choice of Micro-USB, USB-C or Lightning — which plugs into your device’s port, according to CNET.

Energysquare’s tech doesn’t rely on inductive technology like most wireless chargers do. Instead, the startup said it has pioneered a system that relies on electric conduction, TechCrunch reported. This allows the wireless charging pad to charge multiple devices at quick speeds — as long as the sticker’s electrodes are touching the pad’s conductive surface.

Of course, the technology isn’t perfect. One of its downfalls is that — since the sticker plugs into your device’s charging port — you won’t be able to charge your smartphone or tablet the normal way, BGR reported. The company has acknowledged this problem, and has promised that future versions of Energysquare will feature a built-in charging port.

In the future, the startup hopes to be able to sell its proprietary charging pads to various businesses and services — like airports, restaurants and bars — so that wireless charging is available basically anywhere a user goes. Also in the books are iPhone cases with similar conductive tech, so you don’t have to put a sticker on your phone.

An Energysquare charging pad and five stickers currently costs $89 on Kickstarter. The stickers themselves are fairly inexpensive: each additional pack of 5 stickers sells for $10.

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