Look behind any computer or entertainment unit and you’ll likely see a mess of cabling. What if you could beam electricity across a room? Wireless electricity has mainly been the stuff of sci-fi up until now; but a Californian company has made considerable headway into making it a reality.
The PowerBeam system uses invisible, infra red laser to turn the electricity from a transceiver plugged into a wall outlet into optical energy that is then converted by a solar cell receiver into electricity that can be used by appliances.
At this point in time, the company has developed the technology to the point where .5 watts of power can be beamed to a solar cell as far away as 10 meters; enough to power light-emitting diode (LED) lights. It can also charge the battery in a digital picture frame.
To address safety concerns, PowerBeam’s system incorporates technology to ensure human exposure to infra-red rays is at a minimum. For example, should a person or animal walk into the path of the beam, the beam is shut off immediately. During the time the beam is broken, a backup battery will provide power to the device.
PowerBeam is currently working on 3 commercial products – a wireless digital photo frame, wireless surround sound speakers and wireless lighting and expects to have these items on the market within the next 18 months. Vice President of product development, Grier Graham, believes people will be able to use the technology to power laptops without power cords in the not too distant future.
