Towards the end of last week, Freescale Semiconductors made an announcement that went surprisingly unnoticed by the tech community. In a press release on Thursday, Freescale released three "reference designs" for wireless charging systems: one designed for tablets, one for smartphones, and one for multi-cell battery packs like those found in laptops. The modern idea of wireless charging began with researchers at MIT just five years ago, but hasn't yet found its way into the consumer sphere in a big way. There are a number of technological challenges to be solved, including charging rates and proximity to devices. This sort of attention from a large company could be just what the technology needs. "Once wireless charging is broadly deployed in the public infrastructure, charging could become an afterthought for users," said Geoff Lees, vice president and general manager of Freescale’s Industrial & Multi-Market MCU business.