SmartWall creates a house without wires

JAPAN - Imagine charging your cell phone or laptop simply by placing it on the desk or night table in your bedroom or running a flat screen television, a digital clock, and an internally lit picture frame directly through your living room wall.

In the 'House Without Wires', a joint venture announced by Powermat and Denpeki, a leading Japanese developer of advanced construction products designed to create a cleaner, safer, more efficient, and environmentally compatible alternative to construction materials currently in use, its no longer a dream.

In the 'House Without Wires' your toaster, blender, and coffee maker will be powered directly through the marble countertop in your kitchen and the batteries in your children's toys will automatically recharge by storing them in a Powermat-enabled toy chest at the end of the day.

The groundbreaking collaboration will set a new standard in the construction industry by developing and commercializing the SmartWall, an industrial sheetrock that will be embedded with Powermat's wireless technology. The SmartWall, with the ability to transmit wireless power and data to receivers connected to or embedded in electronic devices of all kinds, enables virtually any surface throughout the house to become an alternate method for power distribution that replaces electrical sockets and docking stations.

"We are setting the bar at new heights for the entire construction industry," said Hitoshi Masuya, CEO of Denpeki. "We no longer regard walls as a spatial necessity to separate one room from another or as a blank slate to be decorated with a picture or a clock. Rather they have taken on new significance as internal power centers within the home."

Powermat's proprietary Surface Enhancement Technology (SET) facilitates safe and efficient transfer of power in a manner that is also environmentally advantageous.

Beyond simply eliminating unsightly wires and tangled cords that detract from the overall aesthetic of any environment, SET technology supports a 'greener' cause. Designed to profile the power needs of any electronic device with which it makes contact through an 'electronic handshake', it provides power only to the extent needed and only when the device and the wall are in immediate proximity. Therefore, it saves energy, cuts costs, and completely eliminates the transfer of energy when a device is in idle mode or detached from the wall to ensure optimum energy utilization.

"As the overall maintenance and revitalization of our environment has increasingly become an issue, we recognize the need for more effective energy conservative technology. Our goal in partnering with Denpeki is to support the progression of technology in a way that is both responsible and environmentally compatible," said Ran Poliakine, Chairman of the Board of Powermat.

The SmartWall is as an effective fire prevention tool. The SmartWall transfers power by means of magnetic induction rather than electrical current. By doing so, it reduces the potential for electrical sparking, a major cause of fires within the home. It also eliminates the use of multiple electrical outlets that can be overloaded and made dangerous.

According to Shimon Romach, Commissioner of The National Fire and Rescue Service of Israel, "most residential fires are rooted in an electrical cause like short circuited electrical connections, deteriorating wire insulating materials, grounding faults, defects in electrical appliances, or an overheated device left unattended. By introducing an alternate method for energy distribution that operates by means of a completely different infrastructure, the incidence of home-based fires will dramatically decrease."