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Solar-powered Handbag

Posted by Hemos on from the i-want-my-solar-man-purse dept.

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."

19 of 235 comments (clear)

  1. Uh huh... by Grey+Ninja · · Score: 5, Funny

    Somehow I just don't see how adding a battery to a purse is going to make things easier to find. You know that women are just going to have one more thing in the purse to move around, and there's going to be too much in there for the light to actually penetrate... I mean seriously, most women I know have a double decker bus worth of stuff in there. It's a wonder they all don't lean when they walk. ;)

    1. Re:Uh huh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      You know women ? You must be new to slashdot.

  2. Women by 8tim8 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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?

    1. Re:Women by eln · · Score: 4, Funny

      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.

      Women have a lot more than that to offer engineering firms. For example, they prevent company picnics from being complete sausage fests.

    2. Re:Women by Asic+Eng · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Actually, I think it's somewhat surprising that a woman thought of this. To quote from the article: Safety and usefulness were uppermost in Rosanna Kilfidder's mind.

      Now if you look at handbags, they come in many shapes or sizes, but if you wanted to pick the two features which have the least bearing for handbag fashion, you'd probably end up with the two which Ms Kilfidder picked. :-)

      For clothing and accessories, people don't consider extra gimmicks like this, just like no-one buys jackets with integrated mp3 players. The focus for the design of these items is primarily to make the wearer look better. A slightly differently placed seam or the right label has a higher importance than some technology feature.

  3. More useful by HugePedlar · · Score: 5, Funny

    Carry a proximity transponder in your pocket, so if your bag is nicked it screams "help me, I'm being blagged!"

    --
    Argh.
    1. Re:More useful by op12 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Carry a proximity transponder in your pocket, so if your bag is nicked it screams "help me, I'm being blagged!"

      Great, so then people will steal your bag and your pants.

  4. New status symbol by Solder+Fumes · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

  5. Dilemma by feepcreature · · Score: 4, Funny

    Aaargh!

    On one hand, it's a gadget, so I have to get one.

    On the other, it's a handbag, and I'll not be seen dead with one.

    What's a geek to do?

    --
    Paul "Say no to feeping creaturism"
  6. For my backpack by Nf1nk · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I would love this for my backpack, so I could find the stray pencils or my long lost stapler that I know is lurking near the bottom.
    Also I had a vision of the breifcase from pulp fiction.

    --
    I used to have a cool sig, back when I cared
    1. Re:For my backpack by HawkingMattress · · Score: 4, Funny

      Ok, so you've been waiting for an invention like this to get your stapler and your pencils back from your backpack ?
      Here's a trick my mom taught me: You can put a backpack upside down, and the things in it will nicely fall on the ground so you can sort them and find the beloved object !
      This backpack feature was invented a guy named Newton, who could never find his apples in his bag, or something like that...

  7. Other places to put solar cells... by pieterh · · Score: 4, Interesting

    - in the windows of cars parked in the sun, powering anti-theft alarms
    - in the fabric of sun shades for the beach, powering a beer cooler
    - on the backs of notebooks, adding to their pathetic battery life
    - on rucksacks, powering the old ipod
    - in the garden, keeping the gnomes warm

    But for the handbag, why not simply make a material that is opaque from the outside and transparent from the inside, which lets light in but not out...?

    --
    My blog
    1. Re:Other places to put solar cells... by Numair · · Score: 5, Informative

      in the windows of cars parked in the sun, powering anti-theft alarms

      The Mercedes E series offers a solar panel sunroof, which operates the car A/C on a sunny day. Personally, I think that's a far better application of solar power ...

    2. Re:Other places to put solar cells... by Bob3141592 · · Score: 5, Funny

      But for the handbag, why not simply make a material that is opaque from the outside and transparent from the inside, which lets light in but not out...?

      No, bad idea. All those trapped photons would build up, and when the handbag was opened they would burst out like a photon torpedo, incinerating the woman. Oh the humanity!

      --
      In theory, there's no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.
  8. Won't work by HugePedlar · · Score: 5, Funny

    Additionally, I though light was supposed to be unable to escape from a black hole...

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    Argh.
  9. Re:Wrong audience by Nf1nk · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...when will this tech translate over to our wallets? :)

    As a man you should know that it will effect your wallet the moment it becomes the hit status symbol. she buys one and your wallet is lighter :(

    --
    I used to have a cool sig, back when I cared
  10. Demographic by Joe+Random · · Score: 5, Funny

    This will be great for all those female slashdo...
    I mean, it'll be a great gift for some slashdotter's girlfr...
    Why is this article here, again?

    1. Re:Demographic by Spy+der+Mann · · Score: 4, Funny

      This will be great for all those female slashdo...
      I mean, it'll be a great gift for some slashdotter's girlfr...
      Why is this article here, again?

      For our mothers whose basements we live in?

  11. Personally... by Feanturi · · Score: 5, Funny

    If this is for a woman's handbag, I think it would be much more sensible to attach something to her jaw and get mechanical energy from there as she talks. Because the sun eventually burns out, you know.