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Some mad scientists over on UCLA’s engineering team have effectively developed a new type of LCD using photovaltaic polarizers that recycle energy from sunlight or a device’s own backlight to charge itself. Pretty epic, right? If you’re thinking what I’m thinking, this could be exactly what Android ordered.
Youssry Boutros, program director for the Intel Labs Academic Research Office, which supported the research explains:
“The polarizing organic photovoltaic cell demonstrated by Professor Yang’s research group can potentially harvest 75 percent of the wasted photons from LCD backlight and turn them back into electricity. The strong collaboration between this group at UCLA Engineering and other top groups has led to higher cell efficiencies, increasing the potential for harvesting energy. This approach is interesting in its own right and at the same time synergetic with several other projects we are funding through the Intel Labs Academic Research Office.”
Before you get your hopes up, it could be quite sometime before we could see this technology (or something just like it) adopted by handset manufacturers. Still, Professor Yang remains hopeful:
“In the near future, we would like to increase the efficiency of the polarizing organic photovoltaics, and eventually we hope to work with electronic manufacturers to integrate our technology into real products. We hope this energy-saving LCD will become a mainstream technology in displays.”
Me too, Mr. Yang. Me too…
[Via Engadget]
Quick! Patent it before Apple does!
i think they’re safe. apple doesn’t patent physical inventions. they patent vague concepts.
Apparently they do, as Matt Tanksley pointed out below in the comments :(
“Too late, Apple and Motorola already patented this technology, or variations thereof, years ago.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/26/apple-files-patent-for-solar-cells-on-portable-devices/
http://mobile.engadget.com/2007/04/28/motorola-patent-will-see-lcd-fitted-with-solar-cell/
I’m not saying it’s the same tech, but it’s close enough for lawsuits (need to add that to the old idiom with horseshoes and handgrenades).”
edit………….
You are safe, Apple’s phones don’t die every 3-4 hours… they don’t need this like Android does.
Too late, Apple and Motorola already patented this technology, or variations thereof, years ago.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/26/apple-files-patent-for-solar-cells-on-portable-devices/
http://mobile.engadget.com/2007/04/28/motorola-patent-will-see-lcd-fitted-with-solar-cell/
I’m not saying it’s the same tech, but it’s close enough for lawsuts(need to add that to the old idiom with horseshoes and handgrenades).
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Apple patented the concept of using solar cells, doesn’t look like they made it. Why is it legal to patent the concept? Another vague patent for apple as they try to clear all competition through litigation
so no more battery dead 68% display? patent the exact thing and get it out there apple proof.
FUCK YEA UCLA. WOOOOOOO
Go BRUINS!!!!
A fellow bruin? Awesome!!
“The polarizing organic photovoltaic cell demonstrated by Professor Yang’s research group can potentially harvest 75 percent of the wasted photons from LCD backlight and turn them back into electricity.”
Two issues. One is using the word potentially. A lot of things could potentially be super efficient but aren’t. The relevant parameter is the efficiency reached now in the lab. The other is that just because you harvest 75% of the wasted photons (who knows how much is wasted by the way), I’m not sure that means you get 100% of the energy from those photons. What is the efficiency?
It would be much clearer to hear something like:
Displays usually use x mW and there are y mW of that are due to wasted photons. Of these y mW, we can recover z mW. In terms of solar PV efficiency, we have reached w% with sun exposures of 1 kW/m^2.
Now depending on how big w is, this technology could be useful to someone who is outdoors a lot. Let’s say w = 20% (which would be impressive given the thing has to be a screen too) and let’s say the screen is a 16×9 4.5″ (big, but doable on a button-less Ice Cream Sandwich device if the rumors are true). This has an area of 56 sq cm. If you are lucky enough to get 4 hours of sun at 1 kW/sq m, you have:
4 hr * 0.2 * 1 kw/m^2 * (1 m/100cm)^2 * 56 cm^2 = 4.5 watt hours
Given that a 1500 mAh battery at 3.7 V is around 5 watt hours per day, this is a sizable amount of energy that could be captured each day.
But we’d have to see numbers to know if this is even close.
I definitely agree with your reservation here. I get the feeling it won’t get anywhere near 1W even in direct sunlight, and from the sound of things, it doesn’t appear that it will capture sunlight at all. And even if they can truly harvest 75% of the wasted light, I find it hard to believe that would make up for more than a small fraction of the energy used by the display (maybe like 5-10%). But as long as it’s cheap and practical to implement, even a 5-10% reduction in power need is very substantial.
I’ve always liked the idea of a solar charger on my phone. Screw inductive charging! Give me a solar powered backplate. If my next phone is capable of inductive charging via a backplate, I’ll be throwing a solar film on there to see what I can hack together.
I also read somewhere about an idea that would charge your phone slightly every time you touch the screen. If we could put all of these new ideas together into one unit, (the touch-charge, wasted light charge AND solar charge) you would never need to plug in your phone!
Apple has a broad patent on using light in LCD displays. Prepare for litigation.
Can’t they first patent the right to patent vague patent concepts? that way apple can’t patent things they haven’t created yet
Please go get a life and stop spamming -.-
Reported to moderator.
Pesky spammer gone, thanks for the report!