Splashpower

Splashpower Ltd. was a United Kingdom-based technology company founded in June 2001 to develop wireless charging for portable electronics. Its proposed system used electromagnetic induction to transfer power from a charging surface, called the SplashPad, to compatible devices fitted with a small receiver component known as a SplashModule. The concept was intended for products such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants, MP3 players, and digital cameras. The company’s approach aimed to make charging more convenient by removing the need to connect each device directly to a cable. A user would place a compatible product on a roughly mousepad-sized SplashPad, which would then recharge the device’s battery at a normal rate. The technology added a free-positioning induction loop to the charging surface while retaining the conventional induction loop associated with the power adapter’s conversion from alternating current to direct current. This design was presented as a way to let users place devices on the pad without carefully aligning them with a charging coil. Splashpower received public attention through a demonstration on the BBC science and technology programme Tomorrow’s World. The presentation showed a café-style scenario in which people could charge phones and personal digital assistants while working or having a meal. The demonstration helped associate the company with the emerging idea of ambient or shared wireless power, at a time when most portable devices still relied on proprietary wired chargers. Despite the publicity, Splashpower did not announce commercial availability or pricing by October 2006. Publicly available information also left important technical questions unresolved, including power-transfer efficiency, practical power limits, and the system’s tolerance of metallic objects near the magnetic field. The technology had been expected by some observers to become available during 2007, but Splashpower was unable to bring it to market. The company declared bankruptcy by April 2008. In May 2008, Fulton Innovation, the developer of the eCoupled wireless-power technology, acquired Splashpower. The acquisition ended Splashpower as an independent operating company and placed its technology and related intellectual property within Fulton Innovation’s wireless-power activities. Splashpower is therefore best understood as a defunct early wireless-charging technology brand rather than as a currently marketed consumer-electronics product line.

Splashpower Ltd. was established in the United Kingdom in June 2001 with the objective of developing practical wireless charging for portable electronic devices. Its work belonged to the broader field of wireless energy transfer and was based on electromagnetic induction, a method in which electrical energy is transferred between coupled coils through a magnetic field. The company proposed a system comprising two principal elements. The SplashPad was a charging surface connected to a conventional power supply. The compatible device would contain a small SplashModule that acted as the receiving component. According to Splashpower’s description, the charging surface incorporated a free-positioning induction loop in addition to the conventional loop used at the wall-plug side to handle the conversion between alternating-current input and direct-current output. This arrangement was intended to allow users to place devices anywhere on the pad instead of requiring exact alignment with a charging coil. The intended applications were portable products whose batteries commonly required separate chargers, including mobile phones, personal digital assistants, MP3 players, and cameras. The value proposition was convenience: users could place one or more compatible devices on a shared surface while working, travelling, or using a public venue, rather than managing multiple cables and device-specific power adapters. Splashpower gained visibility through a presentation on Tomorrow’s World, the BBC science and technology programme. The programme demonstrated the concept in a café environment, depicting office workers charging mobile phones and PDAs during a meal. This exposure reflected the public interest in the possibility of wireless power for everyday devices, but it did not lead to a confirmed retail product launch. By October 2006, Splashpower had not announced when its products would be commercially available or what they would cost. Public information about the technology also did not provide enough detail to independently assess several significant engineering characteristics. These included the efficiency of power transfer, the practical levels of power that could be delivered, and the effect of metallic objects in or near the magnetic field. Such information would have been important for determining compatibility, safety, charging speed, and the commercial feasibility of the system. The technology was expected by some observers to become available during 2007, but Splashpower did not succeed in bringing it to market. By April 2008, the company had declared bankruptcy. In May of that year, Fulton Innovation acquired Splashpower. Fulton Innovation was associated with the eCoupled wireless-power technology, and the transaction transferred Splashpower’s technology and business assets into the acquiring company’s activities. Splashpower consequently ceased to operate as an independent brand. Its significance lies primarily in its early attempt to commercialize free-positioning wireless charging before the technology became broadly standardized and integrated into mainstream consumer electronics.

• 2008

  Bankruptcy and acquisition

  [1]Splashpoweren.wikipedia.org

  Splashpower declares bankruptcy by April and is acquired by Fulton Innovation in May.

• 2007

  Expected market availability is not achieved

  [1]Splashpoweren.wikipedia.org

  The proposed technology was expected to become available during 2007, but Splashpower did not bring it to market.

• 2006

  Commercial launch remains unannounced

  [1]Splashpoweren.wikipedia.org

  By October, the company has not disclosed a commercial release date or pricing, and several important technical performance parameters remain publicly undisclosed.

• 2001

  Splashpower is founded

  [1]Splashpoweren.wikipedia.org

  Splashpower Ltd. is established in the United Kingdom in June to develop wireless charging for portable electronic devices.

• Wireless-charging concept is demonstrated on Tomorrow’s World

  [1]Splashpoweren.wikipedia.org

  The BBC programme Tomorrow’s World presents Splashpower’s charging concept in a café setting, showing portable devices being recharged on a shared surface.

An early wireless-power technology company focused on convenient, cable-free charging of portable consumer electronics through electromagnetic induction.

• Wireless charging surface

  SplashPad

  The SplashPad was Splashpower’s proposed charging platform: a roughly mousepad-sized surface connected to a wall power supply. It used electromagnetic induction and a free-positioning induction loop so that compatible portable devices could be placed on the surface without precise alignment. The company presented it as a shared charging location for phones, personal digital assistants, MP3 players, cameras, and other battery-powered electronics. Although demonstrated publicly, it was not brought to commercial market by Splashpower.

• Wireless-power receiver module

  SplashModule

  The SplashModule was the small receiving component intended to be fitted to, integrated into, or used with a compatible portable device. When the device was placed on a SplashPad, the module was designed to receive energy through electromagnetic induction and recharge the device’s battery. The concept addressed the device side of Splashpower’s system, but the company did not achieve a commercial product rollout before its bankruptcy.

• Tomorrow’s World demonstration

  United Kingdom

  Splashpower’s wireless-charging system was demonstrated on the BBC science and technology programme Tomorrow’s World. The presentation used a London café-style scenario to show people charging phones and PDAs on a shared charging surface.

  Outcome. The broadcast generated public visibility and illustrated a consumer use case, but no subsequent commercial launch was achieved by Splashpower.

  Source

• 2008

  Splashpower enters bankruptcyOther

  Background

  The company had promoted a wireless-charging system but had not commercialized it by the time it was expected to reach the market.

  Action taken

  Splashpower declared bankruptcy by April 2008.

  Aftermath

  The company ceased operating independently and was subsequently acquired by Fulton Innovation.

  Source

• 2008

  Fulton Innovation acquires SplashpowerM&A

  Background

  Following Splashpower’s bankruptcy, Fulton Innovation, developer of the eCoupled wireless-power technology, acquired the company.

  Action taken

  Fulton Innovation acquired Splashpower in May 2008.

  Aftermath

  Splashpower no longer operated as an independent company; its technology and related assets became associated with Fulton Innovation.

  Source

• 2008

  Splashpower declares bankruptcy after failing to commercialize its wireless-charging technology[1]Splashpoweren.wikipedia.org

  Bankruptcy

  Splashpower was reported to have declared bankruptcy by April 2008 after it failed to bring its proposed wireless-charging system to market.

• 2008

  Fulton Innovation acquires Splashpower[1]Splashpoweren.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  In May 2008, Fulton Innovation acquired Splashpower, the United Kingdom wireless-charging company, following Splashpower’s bankruptcy.

1. 1Splashpoweren.wikipedia.org