Throw away your plugs. Microsoft Research has developed a screen powered by ambient light alone.
The prototype 鈥渆nergy-neutral鈥� display can run on office lighting and acts like a miniature e-reader. 鈥淲hat we imagine is that our technology could be used just like a Post-It note,鈥� says team member . 鈥淏ut it could be reused, synchronised with notes in other locations, and could be programmed to show up-to-date information, like the weather or the latest bus timetable when you鈥檙e due to leave the office.鈥�
By harvesting energy from its surroundings using photovoltaic cells, the device will never need to be charged.
Advertisement
Event:
鈥淯nlike a computer screen or TV, the e-ink screen doesn鈥檛 require any power to maintain the image,鈥� says Grosse-Puppendahl. 鈥淭hat means that we only need a small amount of energy, which we can collect from the ambient light in an office using a solar panel on the back.鈥�
The device is still in the research stage, so it鈥檚 unclear whether it would be economically viable as a consumer product or have environmental benefits.
While this is the first time that ambient light alone has been used to power a screen, there have been attempts to use other forms of ambient energy. Last year, a group from the University of Washington proposed using the energy in a Wi-Fi signal to power devices. The technology was able to convert the radio wave energy sent from a standard router into electricity, which then powered temperature sensors and low-resolution cameras.
鈥淪ome of the most important applications for this technology are different types of sensors,鈥� says Vijay Raghunathan from Purdue University. When sensors are placed in an office or elsewhere, their batteries often have to be changed. 鈥淗aving an energy neutral sensor could save a lot of money.鈥�
DOI:
