PowerBeam Beams Wireless Electricity Into Devices

More and more Americans are opting to get their entertainment at home, with high-definition television and Blue-Ray disc delivering picture and sound quality that can present an experience that is superior to the local theater. But surround sound speakers require both connectivity and power, which still means millions of consumers are faced with unsightly cords draping across parts of their family rooms and living rooms.

Using technology originally developed for space based applications, California-based start-up PowerBeam, has brought the concept down to earth by developing and patenting a wireless electricity delivery system that delivers electrical power to any location in a room without sending the power through wires. The company’s optical technology turns electricity into optical power. That power is then beamed across open space into a receiver. Similar to a solar cell, the receiver turns the optical power back into electricity and whatever device is attached to the receiver is powered without any wires.

Your mother would appreciate the aesthetic benefits of PowerBeam’s technology.  She could place a lamp anywhere in the room with nothing to plug in.  Her sense of interior design would no longer be insulted by an inconveniently placed electrical outlet or an unsightly wire dangling in plain view.

Anyone who uses an iPhone, G1 or other mobile phone would appreciate the reliability that this kind of power delivery system would give their phones, as the battery would never die. No need to use a charger or power cord. With PowerBeam’s solution, the word “recharge” will eventually be deleted from the everyday vocabulary and devices will work continuously all day long without any inconvenience or interruptions due to power loss.

This type of technology is truly revolutionary and certainly can be used to power just about any device that needs electrical energy. PowerBeam (unlike competitors) has chosen not to “boil the ocean” by focusing on products like cell phones and laptops.  PowerBeam’s founders are focused on stationary products that truly benefit from the freedom of “cutting the cord” or products that claim to be wireless but are still tethered to a power cord.  The initial applications the company plans to introduce are: digital photo frames, wireless speakers, LED lamps and other related LED lighting products, all of which are markets that the company says have been experiencing rapid growth.

While PowerBeam’s technology has potentially large scale applications, such as delivering electrical power from space-based platforms, the company has opted not to engage in contractual relationships with large government organizations like NASA, Darpa, and the U.S. Army, and instead has decided to focus on the development of consumer products for the public sector due to the large potential ROI and the overall dollar size of the consumer markets for wireless electrical products. For its development pipeline, PowerBeam is looking at selected commercial applications and plans to add additional consumer products.

Wireless power is still being developed, but ingenious companies are speeding the evolution from space-based solar energy collection to rapid commercialization of immediately saleable products for the home such as lamps and stereo speakers. Companies like PowerBeam show how technology originally developed for the “8th Continent” can be repurposed by combining smart entrepreneurs with venture capital to enhance life on Earth. PowerBeam is a prime example of an exciting Space 2.0 business venture.

“The beauty about what we do,” according to PowerBeam Marketing Specialist Christopher Surdi, “is that it is ubiquitous across a variety of products and industries.  Not a week goes by that we don’t get a phone call asking if we can power a certain device.  Most often, it is a product we have not even thought about yet.”