this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2025
55 points (100.0% liked)

Technology

37848 readers
393 users here now

A nice place to discuss rumors, happenings, innovations, and challenges in the technology sphere. We also welcome discussions on the intersections of technology and society. If it’s technological news or discussion of technology, it probably belongs here.

Remember the overriding ethos on Beehaw: Be(e) Nice. Each user you encounter here is a person, and should be treated with kindness (even if they’re wrong, or use a Linux distro you don’t like). Personal attacks will not be tolerated.

Subcommunities on Beehaw:

This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
alyaza@beehaw.org
TheRtRevKaiser@beehaw.org
gyrfalcon@beehaw.org
rs5th@beehaw.org
coldredlight@beehaw.org
Los@beehaw.org
SemioticStandard@beehaw.org
TheRtRevKaiser@kbin.social
remington@beehaw.org
55
Look Ma, No Batteries! Hands On With Lenovo's Self-Charging Keyboard (www.pcmag.com)
submitted 1 week ago by 01011@monero.town to c/technology@beehaw.org
33 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Among the many laptops and desktops that Lenovo announced at CES 2025 is an intriguing peripheral: the Self-Charging Bluetooth Keyboard. This unique productivity keyboard ditches the traditional battery, instead utilizing solar and ambient light to charge and store energy.

The Lenovo Self-Charging Bluetooth Keyboard might seem like your run-of-the-mill keyboard, but it comes with a party trick that might just save you a buck in the long run. Using advanced photovoltaic technology and fast-charging supercapacitors, the keyboard actually harnesses ambient light to store energy, eliminating the need for disposable batteries.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] saigot@lemmy.ca 2 points 6 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Where are you getting that number? There are many different types of supercapacitors, which vary in lifespan quite a bit, the conditions (mostly voltage and temp) also have a big impact. The article doesn't specify the type of cap used.

For instance this paper tests a supercapacitor rated for 2.7V at 2.5 and 3v. At 2.5v the cap is estimated to have a lifespan of 100yrs, with 3v scenario it's 10.

Keyboards don't get very hot, and the voltage draw is very predictable so I don't think designing a long lasting capacitor for this usecase is particularly tricky.

I would be worried about the lifespan of the solar panel, but at least it's still usable without that.