Qi

Qi is the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) baseline inductive charging specification for consumer and light commercial devices — defining communication protocols, coil geometries, power negotiation, and foreign object detection for pad-to-device transfer typically below 15 W (Baseline Power Profile) and up to 15 W Extended Power Profile on tightly coupled coils. SiCore engineers reference Qi as the de facto vocabulary for wireless charging interoperability — alignment ping, power transfer contract, and FOD concepts — even when industrial dock and AGV receiver products operate at power levels, frequencies, and duty cycles far outside Qi certification scope.

Industrial autonomous vehicle charging in warehouses and manufacturing lines demands multi-kilowatt resonant transfer, floor-flush pit installations, continuous 24/7 operation, and integration with fleet management and facility safety PLCs — requirements Qi was not architected to address. SiCore does not substitute Qi compliance for industrial product qualification; instead, teams map which Qi principles (communication state machines, loss-based FOD thinking, thermal limits) inform design while recognizing that AGV WPT must satisfy SAE, IEC, UL, and regional EMC/safety frameworks appropriate to installed power and environment.

01Qi scope vs industrial WPT

• Power class: Qi consumer profiles cap at low tens of watts; SiCore dock systems deliver 3–11 kW+ to AGV receivers.
• Coupling geometry: Qi assumes handset-sized coils; industrial systems use large planar or DD coils with wide alignment tolerance.
• Frequency and topology: Qi BPP/EPP use defined bands and control; SiCore resonant systems may operate at industrial ISM allocations with different tuning.
• Safety context: Qi certification addresses portable equipment; fixed installations require mains-connected product safety per IEC/UL.
• Fleet integration: Qi has no provision for CAN/Ethernet fleet scheduling, multi-pad arbitration, or site E-stop interlocks.

02Conceptual carryover for SiCore design

Qi protocol layers illustrate useful patterns: digital ping before power, identification and configuration packets, negotiated power level changes, and graceful shutdown on fault — SiCore industrial protocols implement analogous phases with vendor extensions for alignment search, BMS coordination, and telemetry. FOD in Qi relies on power loss accounting and Q-factor measurement; SiCore extends these techniques with thermal sensing and site calibration for metal-rich factory floors.

Engineers evaluating third-party modules marketed as "Qi-compatible" for AGV pilots must verify whether the claim applies only to low-power auxiliary charging (e.g., handheld scanner pads) or incorrectly implies whole-vehicle industrial qualification. Document in product datasheets which interfaces, if any, align with WPC test points versus SiCore proprietary industrial stack.

03Qualification path guidance

For SiCore products entering markets where customers ask "Is it Qi?": clarify that industrial WPT follows applicable industrial and automotive-adjacent standards (SAE J2954 concepts, IEC 61980 series, UL 2750) rather than WPC Qi certification for the high-power path. Low-power maintenance or accessory pads on AGVs may optionally pursue Qi certification as a separate SKU — do not conflate with main traction battery charging compliance. Reference WPC published specifications for terminology alignment in customer-facing technical briefs without asserting Qi logo eligibility on non-certified industrial hardware.