Intel gives a glimpse of tomorrow with futuristic technologies

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" - Arthur C Clarke's immortal quote was often repeated by Intel CTO Justin Rattner as he showed off a number of technologies in computing, robotics, and communication that he cited as evidence that Ray Kurzweil's concept of "singularity," when machine intelligence surpasses human intelligence, is impending.

Demonstrations spotlighted the wireless transmission of electrical power, dexterous robots with new sensory abilities, a direct interface to the brain, programmable materials that can be used for shape-shifting devices such as resizable cell phones, and silicon photonics that enables chips to communicate with photons rather than electrons.

A few years ago, transference of files between computers without the use of wires would be in the realms of fantasy. With infrared and Bluetooth, it is now very much a reality. Now, Intel aims to convert another dream into a real-life application - wireless transference of power. Imagine charging up your laptop computer or cell phone without plugging them into an electrical socket!

Though demonstrated in the laboratory several times in the past, a practical application has deluded developers, primarily because of the large energy losses associated with the procedure. However, on Thursday, demonstrated how to make a 60-watt light bulb glow from an energy source 3 feet away with a relatively high efficiency of 75 per cent.

Alanson Sample, a University of Washington intern at Intel's research facility in Seattle, demonstrated the ability to transmit power over short distances, using two round metal coils, one as a transmitter, the other a receiver. The latter had a light bulb on the top that remained lit as Sample, a graduate student in electrical engineering, moved the coil around.

The technology builds on the work of Marin Soljacic, a physicist at MIT. Intel and MIT researchers are leveraging a phenomenon know as "resonant induction" in transmitting power. The MIT researchers, who call the technology "WiTricity," a combination of "wireless" and "electricity," had previously lit their bulb from 7 feet away with larger charging coils and between 40 per cent to 45 per cent efficiency.

Intel's system, called a "wireless resonant energy link," relies on strongly coupled resonators, which operate on a principle similar to how a singer can shatter glass with her voice. The receiving resonator absorbs power at its natural frequency much like a glass absorbs sound energy at its natural frequency.

But this technology has a long way to evolve before it becomes a commercial product. In both the MIT and the Intel work, researchers used charging coils far too large for wide-scale use. Even so, Rattner said Intel is in the early stages of trying to modify a laptop to accept wireless power. One challenge is figuring out how to prevent the electromagnetic field from interfering with the computer's other parts, he said.

Eventually, a homeowner could attach a large transmitter to a wall - or even bury it inside the wall - and plant many smaller receivers inside nearby tables and chairs and other pieces of furniture, creating the ultimate in recharging convenience.

Joshua Smith, principal engineer at Intel's research facility in Seattle and the leader of the wireless power project, showed a robotic arm that could sense an apple placed in front of its claw, grasp the object, and then drop it into someone's outstretched hand. Among the key innovations is the sensor used in the robot. Rather than a camera, the sensor uses an electric field to identify objects, similar to how some fish identify their surroundings.

Rattner also brought Jan Rabaey, a professor at the University of California-Berkeley, on stage to describe his vision for the future of radio communications. He believes each person will have about 1,000 radios soon, most of them infinitesimally small.

Radio devices, Rabaey said, will become "cognitive," so they can automatically sense where there's uncluttered radio spectrum available and which communication protocols should be used at a given moment. He also thinks they'll become more collaborative, able to link together in a mesh network that collectively can transmit data faster, in greater quantity, more efficiently, and more reliably.

Rattner also highlighted during his speech Intel's work in programmable matter. Company researchers are investigating how million of tiny micro-robots, called catoms (short for claytronics atoms), can be used to build shape-shifting materials.

Although the work is listed as exploratory research, Jason Campbell, a senior staff research scientist brought on stage to discuss the project, said steady progress is being made.

To build functional catoms, Intel is using novel techniques that borrow from processes now used to make silicon chips. Intel eventually wants to bring all the necessary computational and mechanical components of a catom into one package less than a millimeter across.

If such research is successful, then people could one day have a computer that fits comfortably into a pocket, but can also be stretched and shaped into a full-size traditional notebook. The same manipulation, theoretically, could be done with a mobile phone or other gadget.