Perhaps one of the most amazing inventions at the ongoing Ibtikar 2010 exhibition is that of Abdulrahman Al-Qubbi, a young Saudi inventor and a student of computer science at Taif University, who has invented a device that can transmit electricity wirelessly over a range of four kilometers. Al-Qubbi told Saudi Gazette that his device contains two other innovations: the first is that the machine can work for two hours after the power has been cut off, and the second is that it can be turned on and off remotely by means of special whistle. He claimed that his invention can lead to the construction of buildings without wires and that while officials of the Saudi Electricity Company were interested in his invention, they expressed concern about filling the air with strong electric power. “They told me that my invention was brilliant, but the idea of dispensing with wires and charging the atmosphere with high voltage collected from buildings could lead to dangerous electric sparks,” Al-Qubbi said. However, the young inventor insisted that there are solutions for this problem and added that a Japanese company offered him a contract that would be worth $10 million over a period of 10 years. “I didn't sign the contract because my lawyer read the terms and told me that it contained a number of unduly burdensome requirements,” Al-Qubbi said. He said that he also had had discussions with an American company, but was not able to come to a satisfying agreement with them. Al-Qubbi, who used to be a member of the Gifted Student Center in Taif when he was in secondary school, invented three other devices before creating his wireless electricity transmission machine.
