Power supply without wires is expected to feature heavily at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas which opens on Thursday, according to a report in The Guardian newspaper.
Lighting, audio speakers and digital picture frames are expected to be among the first commercial products on show at the greatest gadget show on earth.
The Guardian writes, "Experts believe this is just the beginning and that eventually wireless electricity - dubbed WiTricity by some - could do for battery life what Wi-Fi did for the internet. In a world without wires, laptop users in cafes and airport terminals would be inside an "˜electricity hotspot' and no longer have to delve past legs, bags and furniture in search of an awkwardly located socket."
David Graham, the co-founder of PowerBeam, told the Observer, 'We're going to delete the word 'recharge' from the English dictionary. If your cell phone is recharging on your desk all day, you won't be thinking about it.'
The Silicon Valley company uses a laser to generate about 1.5 Watts of power to a solar cell 10 metres away. This would be enough to power an electronic speaker or small LED lights, but not enough to operate a laptop, which needs 30 to 50 Watts. Graham claims the technology could be scaled up.