An example of how induction charging works in a phone. Image Source

Induction charging would be the process that I use to charge the otter when it is placed on its charging base, because it allows for the users to easily take the otter on and off the base without having to worry about the dexterity aspect of putting a cable in.

The way it works would be, one of the otters paws had a coil in it that lines up with the coil in one of the tabs in the charging base. The coil in the otters paw would connect to a rechargeable battery that is located in the central part of the otters body.

A diagram showing how the induction process works in the otter.

The charging base would be connected to the wall which would supply the power to the transmitter coil located in the base. Then the reciever coil located in the otters foot would be positioned on top to start the induction process. The electrons in the transmitter coil would start to flow around the coil, which in turn would casue a magnetic field which would casue the electrons in the reciever coil to flow around the coil. The flow of electrons inside the reciever coil would then charge the battery. There are also magnets present in the other three feet to make sure all of the feet line up correctly, making sure the coils are properly alligned.

Sketch of the bottom of the otters foot

The base of the foot with the coil is glass as this is what is needed to ensure that the charging works propely when positioned over the charging tabs. This is becasue induction charging doesn’t always work over a thick plastic casing, which is what the rest of the otters body is made of (due to structural purposes) as the magnetic fields are not strong enough.

There is a concern that the electormagnetic fields produced by the wireless charging is bad from a health and saftey point of view. However the level of exposure to them from wireless charging is negligible and not a risk to humans.