Researcher Creates Prototype Device With Solar Cells In The Display – Self Sustaining Smartphones Are Almost Upon Us
Solar powered smartphones… Now why didn’t I ever think of that? Oh wait- I did. And I’m sure we all have at some point. But let’s be realistic, just how often do you spend your time actually outside in the sunlight? 3? Maybe 4 minutes of the day? The rest of your time is spend underneath the cold, harsh fluorescent lights of your office or work place.
But wouldn’t it be something if a phone could charge itself? That’s exactly what Arman Ahnood was thinking when he came up with a prototype device that uses solar cells to capture wasted energy emitted from OLEDs that light up a device’s display.
While 100% self sustaining power is still quite a ways off, Ahnood’s method is able to capture the light from a phone’s display with a 11-18% efficiency. This results in around 5 milliwatts of extra power with given a device with a 3.7-inch screen size. Just imagine what could be extracted from your Galaxy Nexus? Okay, so it wouldn’t be much but 20 or so minutes of extra battery life is always welcomed.
[IeeeSpectrum via Engadget]