Your Plants Could Text You

The next time you hear your cell phone signal that you have a text message, it may not be from your significant other, your kids, or your friends.  Instead, it may be from your plants.  What exactly do your plants have to say?  Well, they may be texting you to let you know that they need water.

Generally, plants aren’t capable of telling us when they need more water, but with a new type of sensor designed by AgriHouse, that may all change.  These tiny little sensors clip on to the leaves of the plant.  They’re very small and thin—in fact, the latest sensors are smaller than a standard postage stamp, and they don’t damage the leaves at all.  Once they’re clipped on the plant, the sensors are capable of monitoring how much water the plant is receiving and whether or not it needs more.

Anyone who lives in an area that gets plenty of rain on a regular basis may find that they don’t need this kind of close monitoring.  However, for those trying to grow crops in areas with little rainfall, or those who tend to forget to water their plants, these little sensors could mean the difference between thriving plants and dead ones.  Farmers who rely on using water from aquifers will also find that the sensors are very useful.  By knowing when to water their crops, they can save a lot of money since they won’t be over watering.  This conservation of water and energy can greatly affect some areas, giving farmers more money to spend on other ventures.

Solar Powered Cell Phones

Previously, we discussed the innovations at Kyocera and the fact that they were working on a motion-powered cell phone.  Well, they aren’t the only cell manufacturer who is working on creating a green cell phone.  Sharp and AU have added a solar panel to one of their newest phones.  They aren’t the first company to add solar power to a cell phone—Ericsson and Motorola both have models on the market or coming out soon.  However, solar powered cell phones are still quite limited, even if they are becoming more popular.

Sharp’s newest solar powered phone will be debuting in Japan in June of this year.  The device features a solar panel embedded on the phone’s lid, making it easy for users to simply set the phone near a window or other sunny location.  Leaving it in the sunlight for around ten minutes charges the battery enough for it to last for about a minute of call time or around two hours of standby time.  That’s not a huge amount of power, so it’s obviously not a way of continuously charging your phone.

While the amount of power this solar powered cell phone generates isn’t really that much, the fact that it generates any power at all is impressive and a step in the right direction.  Someday, it may be completely possible to power your cell phone via solar energy.  If everyone invested in one of these solar powered cells, it would save a lot of energy every day.  Seeing how many phone manufacturers are already jumping on the idea is certainly a very hopeful sign.

New Kyocera Cell Phone Could Be Charged by Kinetic Energy

You may not think that charging your cell phone uses up that much energy, but think about how often you charge it.  If you have a smart phone or other PDA, you may need to charge your phone every day.  This can add up over the days.  Your cell phone actually uses way more power than you think it does.

But what if there were some way to charge your cell phone without using traditional power?  That’s what Kyocera, one of the larger cell phone manufacturers, has asked themselves.  Kyocera designer Susan McKinney then took this idea and has created a conceptual device she calls the Eos.  Her cell phone folds in thirds, is very flexible, and contains tiny piezoelectric generators.  What do these generators do?  Basically, as you walk and move, these nano-scale generators convert the kinetic energy of your body into power.  While the device will most likely include a traditional charger, the power generated from your body may be enough to power the phone.

In addition to the nano-scale piezoelectric generators, the device has several other very innovative features.  It uses shape memory that brings keys up from the surface of the device when it is in use and fade down when it’s not.  The screen is also very flexible.  It is about the size of a wallet when used for standard phone calls, but it can actually be unfolded to make a larger screen when you need to see more.

While we won’t be seeing this amazing device in stores just yet, Kyocera plans on making use of its many new features in the next few years, so expect to see flexible screens, shape memory, and even a few amazing kinetic energy-powered phones in the future.