WiBotic Receives CE Marks for Robot Wireless Charging Systems

Drone Outfitted with WiBotic’s OC-251 Onboard Charger, Sitting Atop a WiBotic PowerPad (TR-301 Transmitter in an Enclosure)

WiBotic, a supplier of advanced autonomous charging and fleet energy management solutions for the rapidly expanding ecosystem of aerial, mobile, marine, and industrial robots, announced that it has received CE Mark approval for two of its wireless charging systems.

CE Marks demonstrate that products traded in the European Economic Area meet rigid safety, health, and environmental protection requirements, and extend upon WiBotic’s prior approvals under similar U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations.

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.

Source: Press Release

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