Researchers develop flexible, see-through battery

Those mad scientists at Waseda University have already brought us walking and talking robots, but they now seem to have turned their attention to an endeavor less likely to storm out of the lab in a fit of rage, with Gizmag reporting that researchers at the University have developed a so-called "organic radical" battery that's flexible and transparent. In addition to being ridiculously easy to lose, the battery apparently takes only one minute to charge and can last over 1,000 cycles, although it's not clear exactly how much juice that translates to in real world use. It's also, of course, not clear when these see-through batts will ever make it out of the lab, although with transparent circuits and OLEDs also already in the works, it seems like it's only a matter of time before all our gadgets are invisible.

[nuguns101 @ Mar 22nd 2007 4:27PM]

*I'm not bashing, but I'm just wondering what are some of the uses for this sort of thing

[enzo @ Mar 22nd 2007 6:55PM]

heads-up-displays in cars/bikes, on sunglasses, watches, clothing... I think there are a lot of uses for this tech.

[GameboyRMH @ Mar 23rd 2007 1:19AM]

Well nuguns101, apart from the obvious uses of an OLED in HUD displays, transparent circuits could be embedded in a device's screen (I think the Mac G5 has something like this?) and transparent batteries could be stuck to screens as well. Look at most digital watches, there's loads of space behind the screen's lens, that space could be full of batteries.

If nothing else, transparent batteries are cool :P

[Scabies @ Mar 22nd 2007 4:29PM]

Hmm, mature transparent batteries coupled with a hypothetical transparent solar cell... anything could produce power!

[Jacob Kennedy @ Mar 22nd 2007 4:56PM]

Now you're thinking. Windows on a house that double as solar panels and their batteries... that's lean, green, environment-saving, er, machine?

[Patuxentbball @ Mar 22nd 2007 4:34PM]

I, for one, welcome our invisibly powered robot overlords.

[some person @ Mar 22nd 2007 6:33PM]

Why do you/people keep saying(/something like) that?

[jav @ Mar 22nd 2007 5:10PM]

dude wheres my invisible car?

[MC2009 @ Mar 22nd 2007 5:10PM]

Haha, "crap, NOW where'd I put my iPod!?"

[Zorque @ Mar 22nd 2007 5:11PM]

It would be pretty cool for all our portable electronics to have conductive nanofibers molded into their plastic cases, so you could just slap a battery patch anywhere to run them.

[DaBox @ Mar 22nd 2007 7:54PM]

It's an homage to a Simpsons episode where News announcer Kent Brockman mistakes a floating ant in a space shuttle experiment for a giant space ant and says, "Ladies and gentlemen, uh, we've just lost the picture, but what we've seen speaks for itself. The Corvair spacecraft has apparently been taken over -- 'conquered' if you will -- by a master race of giant space ants. It's difficult to tell from this vantage point whether they will consume the captive earth men or merely enslave them. One thing is for certain: there is no stopping them; the ants will soon be here. And I for one welcome our new insect overlords. I'd like to remind them that as a trusted TV personality, I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground sugar caves."

[some person @ Mar 22nd 2007 11:52PM]

Ah! Now I understand the meme that lives on Engadget

[Xee @ Mar 22nd 2007 9:23PM]

Man, one step closer to HUD's in contact lenses. :)

[Kev50027 @ Mar 22nd 2007 11:58PM]

I for one consider this absolutely useless. There may be some creative uses, but there's absolutely no way it's going to get used. It's just too impractical.

[Chad @ Mar 23rd 2007 11:17AM]

everybody's focusing on the transparent part of this story. let's not forget that it's also flexible, which has LOADS more potential as batteries could now squeeze into smaller places to power smaller gadgets.

[slimpimp @ Mar 23rd 2007 12:56PM]

as a screen protector on slimpim.com designed devices!

[Xee @ Mar 23rd 2007 2:33PM]

Well Kev50027, take HUD's on contact lenses for a "practical" use. Current GPS units in cars still require you to take your eyes off the road to look at the screen. Imagine if the data was streamed from your car to your lenses instead. A colored line could be shown on the road in front of you, making it easy to see where you need to go. Buildings you drive by would have their address floating in big fonts above them and your destination building could be highlighted in a bright color for easy identification. Obviously, we’re going to yet need transparent-tech up the wazoo to achieve this goal but this battery is a step in the right direction.

[Genome @ Mar 24th 2007 7:18AM]

Anyone remember the nokia 888?

[laptop @ Aug 20th 2008 10:29PM]

No matter how incredibly powerful your laptop is or how many encyclopedias are stored in its harddisk, the moment it runs out http://www.batteryfast.co.uk/acer/batby27l.htm
of juice it amazingly transforms into an expensive doorstop. Mobility is more than the ability to lug the notebook around. Being untethered also means your system should be able to survive for a reasonable amount of time without charging.