Intel Corp. has demonstrated a technology that could fundamentally change usage of mobile computers and handheld gadgets. At Intel Developer Forum the company demonstrated its Wireless Resonant Energy Link (WREL), which can power various devices without wires.

Based on principles proposed by MIT physicists, Intel researchers have been working on a Wireless Resonant Energy Link (WREL). Justin Rattner, Intel’s chief technology officer, demonstrated powering a 60-watt light bulb without the use of a plug or wire of any kind, which is more than is needed for a typical laptop.

The magic of WREL is that it promises to deliver wireless power safely and efficiently, according to Intel. The technology relies on strongly coupled resonators, a principle similar to the way a trained singer can shatter a glass using her voice. At the receiving resonator’s natural frequency, energy is absorbed efficiently, just as a glass absorbs acoustic energy at its natural frequency.

With this technology enabled in a laptop, for example, batteries could be recharged when the laptop gets within several feet of the transmit resonator. Many engineering challenges remain, but the company's researchers hope to find a way to cut the last cord in mobile devices and someday enable wireless power in Intel-based platforms.

Intel did not reveal any other technical details about the WREL technology.