At a demonstration on the exhibition floor, tablets laid on a table connected easily to a networked router on the same table, avoiding the morass of competing Wi-Fi signals on the show floor. The table also provided enough power to slowly charge a mobile phone and as well as run small fans and LED lights.

All devices displayed where equipped with the special couplers, and the low power supply was an obvious limit on the types of gadgets that could be displayed.

Noda said Internet connections run at Wi-Fi speeds. For charging, 60-centimeter-square sheets have been tested as safely taking 10 watts of power without any ill effects on users. Devices laid on such sheets charge at about 4 watts.

The team, which is working with large Japanese corporations like NEC to develop the technology, is also planning to incorporate it into home furniture, to create surfaces where users can lay their gadgets to automatically charge and join their personal network.

The Ceatec exhibition, Japan's largest electronics show, runs this week at Makuhari, just outside of Tokyo.