A French designer has developed with a digital bonsai tree, which can charge gadgets like smartphones and tablets. Designer Vivien Muller has named the bonsai tree ‘Electree ‘.
The digital bonsai tree features 27 high-quality amorphous silicon square solar panels, each measuring around 3.7-inches. The solar panels are designed similar to trees and are placed at the end of branches – very reminiscent of a bonsai plant.
“Nature has selected over millions of years the most efficient structures to capture solar energy. The tree’s shape is thus the best means to take advantage of solar energy. While studying fractals, I realized that one could draw a tree by repeating and transforming a basic pattern,”Vivien Muller is quoted by Kickstarter.
The website claims an electric tree charger was first conceptualized way back in 2008 by the same designer. The idea didn’t incite much then. The Electree charger is considered to be an improved version of the predecessor. The designer claims the Electree comes with adjustable solar leaflets to maximize sunlight absorption.
The Electree comes with a battery with a capacity of 14, 000mAh. The Electree takes 36 hours to get fully charged. Fully charged, the device can charge an iPhone 5 nine times over and an iPad 2 twice without exposure to light. The Electree comes with two USB ports, one for smartphone that need less power and another for the tablets that need faster charging. There’s an NFC chip as well to enable wireless device charging – the new technology gaining popularity among smartphone makers such as Nokia and Samsung.
The device is priced at $199. The company behind the Electree project are planning to launch the Electree Charger globally by May 2013 if everything goes according to the plan.
The concept of Electree will certainly please the green enthusiasts as the device is expected to reduce carbon footprint, and inspire more green initiatives such as stress on renewable energy sources.
Source: IBTimes