Solar-powered Handbag

karvind writes "BBC reports that a student, Rosanna Kilfedder, from Brunel University has designed solar-powered handbag to make finding keys and other items at the bottom of a bag easier. The handbag, dubbed Sun Trap, uses a solar cell attached to the outside of the bag to trap energy from sunlight. The energy is stored in an internal battery which lights up the lining. The lining is made from an electroluminescent material and is lit up by the bag's zip which acts as a switch. The bag goes dark when the zip is closed or after 15 seconds if it is accidentally left open. A secondary use of the portable battery is as an emergency charger for mobile phones and other wireless devices."

Comments

Women

[8tim8]

Sounds useful. This is an example of why it's good to have women in engineering/CS programs. Would a guy ever have thought of this?

Re:Women

[VolciMaster]

I certainly hope you can come up with a better reason for women in engineering than the invention of a silly gadget of dubious value.

True, women should be in engineering, but (and this is not sexist) many don't want to be there. They find other careers more interesting. engineering tends to be a guy-dominated environment, nto because guys are necessarily better at it, but they're the ones who go into the field. I've met lots of girls (I go to a 65/35 girl/guy college) in school who are very bright, and even like doing the kidns of analytical problems that CS and engineering have. But they pick other fields to go into because they're more attracted to them personally.

I think there's a good reason that there aren't more females in the sciences, and it has nothing to do with inferiority, or bad recruiting: they want to do something else. Likewise, certain fields tend to have a lot fewer guys in them, like early childhood development, and elementary education (to name just two). Guys aren't incapable of teaching those classes/age groups, but they don't (often) want to.

As to the gadget's 'dubious' value, if this came in a briefcase variant, I can think of loads of guys who would buy one (me included).

New status symbol

[Solder Fumes]

Rummage in the handbag for the blinged-up cellphone with flashing keypad and Fiddy-Cent ringtones, all up in the club with the glowing bag...yeah this'll fly I imagine. Shiny stuff sells.

Just don't open it on a dark subway because Homeland Security might gun you down first and check for the stolen enriched uranium later.

But can you get Hermés, LVMH et al to license

[Numair]

Women buy handbags because they look cool (see: Birkin bag phenomenon, Kate Spade, etc). The trick with this is getting it licensed by these players for their future fashions ... Is it even possible? I could see this being sold as a "premium" feature, for a "special solar edition" version of the bags in their line, or something like that ...

Purses aren't practical...

[ThaFooz]

they're a fasion accessory. Putting solar pannels on it won't make it anymore attractive to women, unless you get some Italian/French/NYC designer to plaster his name all over it.

If the goal was comfort and ease of finding things, women would buy cargo pants.

Re:Needs more LV symbols

[RobotRunAmok]

It won't sell well amongst American woman unless they replace the stars with Louis Vitton/Gucci/Burberry/Prada symbols.

Spoken like someone who's never been further east than Long Island. When it comes to obsession with designer chic, our European sistren make their New World counterparts all look like K-Mart shoppers in search of a Blue Light Special.

But the hi-tech angle won't tickle the Euros like it does the Americans; we remain gadget-obsessed, regardless of gender,

...except by comparison to the Japanese...

Re:Other places to put solar cells...

[hungrygrue]

Or the most damn obvious one: On the roofs of hybrid cars - With all of the technology they use to (re)capture any energy and store it in the batteries (like regenerative breaking) to eek out better mileage, isn't putting a light weight solar panel on the roof just plain obvious?!

Re:Other places to put solar cells...

[jdgreen7]

I wonder if the bag can be used as a makeshift flashlight (much like cell phones) if you open its "mouth" on something in the dark.

Yep, here it comes... The ever-present "feature creep". Eventually, people will be shouting for GPS locators in the handbag that can be tracked via your cell phone. Then, they'll ask for a portable generator in case of a power outage. Then, they'll ask for the bag to have the ability to "self-inflate" in case of flooding. They, we'll have someone clamoring for a small keyboard in the handbag to send text messages... The list goes on... Eventually, you'll have to put a "Start" button in the outside of the bag (or a pretty foot or a K) with an LCD display that lets you choose your options of what you want your bag to do... When it simply use to carry things... tsk...

As someone involved in fashion

[AutopsyReport]

This handbag isn't really inspiring or attractive, unfortunately. I suppose the technological appeal is present, but handbags do not sell on comfort (unless you shop at Walmart/Kmart, etc.) nor do they sell on technology. They sell due to designer, designer labels, and what the current trend is (think Louis Vuitton right now -- very, very popular).

Her idea is good and well-intentioned, but a more couture-embracing design would be required to invoke a broader appeal. Put the idea in a beautiful handbag, and she may have something that sells well. But I'm beginning to think -- and see -- that many women are becoming very selective about which handbag they carry. The design of this bag doesn't look like one that could carry her idea well. Good thinking, though.

Re:Uh huh...

[ChocoBean]

I don't see how that could be useful either, and I'm a chick.

this has GOT to be a joke. A light? When I was reading the headline and then the stub and then in little hope left, the article, I was hoping a device was invented that lets you digitally keep track of contents of a handbag using solar power!!

This device would possibly consist of tiny microchip sticker things that you can attach to your keys, to your wallet, to your lip balm, to your cell phone, etc, that reports to another thing installed in the bag itself. The bag will then be able to tell you which of the following be-stickered items are currently inside, and in bigger hand bags, which compartment. It may even choose to have that sticker FLASH or beep to signify its location for all I care.

but as it as, pray tell, how is this useless invention any different from having a (solar powered) flash light hot-glued to your handbag? Which I DOUBT will even be preferable when bags are exchanged every day to go with outfits....

Worst. Invention. Ever.

Re:Surely

[shis-ka-bob]

1) How many women want to show everyone ALL the contents of her purse? Women will wan to carry medications, condoms and hygene products discretely. I wouldn't want to have my ID & credit cards in a tranparent bag in plastic.
2) how does a transparent purse help in the dark? (the solar cells charge batteries that run the light whenever the purse is opened. It helps just like all the little lights in your car that help you find the ignition switch, etc. when you open the car door.
To be fair, these concerns might be addressed with a translucent material.