Just the other day I was in this cycle of thought that potential Smartphone charging technologies have been discussed to the death and writing about them serves no good since many of them are still some time away from real-world implementation. But guess what, I have gone ahead and done it again! And trust me when I say that this one is well worth a read.
INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY
Currently under development by France based SunPartner Group, the Wysips® crystal technology is like a photovoltaic power station for the Smartphone battery. It is a component sheet made up by bonding semi-cylindrical lenses and photovoltaic cells that uses light energy (solar or artificial) to create electricity which then charges the phone. This component layer needs to be placed above the screen during manufacturing and is connected to a chip which in turn acts as carrier for sending electrical energy to the Smartphone’s electrical circuit to juice up the battery as well as manage the energy produced.
Initial analysis has shown that a 90% transparent component layer produces power of about 2.5mW/cm² which translates to 2-4 minutes of battery life from 10 minutes of light exposure. Reduce the transparency further down to 60-70% and one can effectively generate power of about 10mW/cm² to get 16 minutes of battery life from 10 minutes of exposure to a light source. SunPower Group is said to be readying light-powered prototypes which could be available as early as 2014.
POSSIBLE HITCHES
The company also claims that the addition of the component layer does not affect the phone’s contrast, luminosity and readability although that is subject to user review. From an idealistic point of view, this could be the best charging technology to be incorporated in Smatphones but what might hinder the practical use of it is the fact that our Phones reside in our pockets or satchels more often than not so that is definitely something that needs to be looked at. Apart from this small hitch, I am pretty sure that masses wouldn’t mind doing away with their chargers so that their Smartphones can be juiced up by artificial light or the almighty aubade of our solar system!
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