3D Printed Tree Charges Smart Phones With #Solar Power
3D printed tree provides you with solar power. via inhabitat
Scientists at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have created a prototype of a tree that harvests power from indoor and outdoor light and turns it into electricity for powering small electronic devices, including smartphones. The tree, which is 3D-printed from wood-based biomaterials developed by VTT, can also harvest kinetic energy from its surroundings. It’s also cute enough to fit in with your decor.
The tree can be fitted with multiple flexible solar panel “leaves,” also 3D-printed in a process VTT developed. The more panels you attach, the more energy the tree can harvest. The tree and leaf creation is made possible by a new mass production method which enables designers to create functional objects from organic photovoltaic solar panels; the ultra-thin panels are 0.2 mm thick, with electrodes and polymer layers included. An array of 200 leaves generates 3.2 amperes of electricity and 10.4 watts of power when placed in outdoors in a sunny climate.
VTT is a multi-technological applied research organization, overseen by the Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy, the largest organization of its kind in Northern Europe.
Read more: This 3D-printed tree charges smart phones with solar power | Inhabitat – Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: CircuitPython Comes to the ESP32-P4, Emulating Arm on RISC-V, and Much More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
