Solar panels built into smartphone screen to solve the battery-life crisis

At Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona this week, Kyocera is showing a prototype that turns one of the modern smartphone’s biggest battery life liabilities into an asset – a smartphone that incorporates solar power technology into the touchscreen.

According to a Smithsonian Magazine report, Kyocera developed the technology in partnership with SunPartner Technologies and installed it on its Torque smartphone prototype, which was designed for rugged outdoor use.

At less than 0.5 millimeters in thickness and as much as 90% transparency, the screen technology could fit any of today’s popular smartphones without inhibiting their users, SunPartner Technologies said in a press release. The component that captures sunlight – called Wysips Crystal – can be installed just below the touchscreen panel of the smartphone, so it doesn’t affect the user experience, and feeds the solar energy into the battery.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here