Posted on: September 1, 2023 Posted by: Natalie M. Brownell Comments: 0

The display is likely the primary reason if your phone doesn’t stay up all night. The screen is the most demanding component on your phone; however, the next time you get a new phone, it might return a bit of the power it uses.

Japanese manufacturer of devices Kyocera, in partnership with French company SunPartner Technologies, will showcase a concept smartphone during Mobile World Congress, the biggest trade show for mobile technology equipped with a display that can be charged indoors and outdoors under the bright light.
Smartphones like Samsung’s Blue Earth feature solar cells in the back. When you’re using a smartphone, the back of the phone is obscured by your hands, and the screen receives the most exposure to sunlight. Therefore, Kyocera has integrated transparent solar technology into the nets of its tough Torque line.

The technology has enough thickness to allow it to be easily integrated into existing smartphones. Its solar panel is just 0.5 millimeters thick, as per an announcement, and it is up to 90 percent transparent, which means it doesn’t impair the clarity of images. The solar layer is located beneath the touch layer on the phone’s screen and has fine crystals that absorb light and a processor that converts sunlight into energy and feeds it back into the phone’s battery.

The screen shouldn’t serve as the primary power source. However, for those who spend much of their time outdoors, the phone could increase battery life considerably or supply enough juice to allow calls in an emergency if there’s no charging station.

The gadget Kyocera will showcase in the coming week’s Mobile World Congress is only an experimental device. “We have been examining the possibility of commercializing this technology based on the expected usage patterns of our rugged smartphone users,” writes Judah Reynolds, a corporate communications manager at Kyocera, through an email. But, he adds that the technology’s charging capabilities and efficiency in changing light into usable energy will have to be improved before putting it into a consumer Kyocera phone.

The screen technology, named Wysips Crystal in the name of the French designers of SunPartner Technologies, generates 2.5 milliwatts of power for each square centimeter in typical lighting conditions, according to Matthieu De Broca, SunPartner’s marketing director. However, he claims that SunPartner expects to upgrade the technology and produce four milliwatts of power by the end of 2015.

Even with the improved performance, The solar layer can’t supply enough power to run the phone for a long time if it’s frequently used. However, today’s larger screen phones offer more surface area. If the technology continues to advance, it may allow a new device to provide an endless amount of standby time, meaning that the phone’s battery will not run out even when you’re simply sitting at the desk next to the window.

“When you get exposed to light, whether the product is on or off, you’re collecting energy,” says de Broca. “With ten minutes [of sunlight], you can get 100 minutes standby gain, which could also be about two minutes of additional talk time.”

The main issue with power delivery is that crystals need to be transparent. A transparent panel will offer more power, but obviously, you won’t be able to see the screen.

SunPower is also working to integrate its technology into cases and intelligent covers for tablets and phones. SunPower uses this technology as Wysips Graphics since the solar component isn’t visible. It also allows case makers to design customized designs like other cases for phones and covers.

A solar-powered Kyocera Torque might not be available for sale; however, de Broca says they’re working to refine the manufacturing process and hopes to release the first solar-powered tablet or smartphone with Wysips Crystals before the end of 2015. He claims that the company’s solar cases may be available by the end of this summer.

Kyocera is also collaborating with French eBook business Bookeen to create a solar-powered electronic reader that will receive all the energy it requires from sunlight and artificial lighting. According to the blog article on the Bookeen website, the device is expected to be available by the end of next year.

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