OLED And Solar-Panel Lights Promise Earth-Friendly Simplicity

We all love a sandwich, but how often does your sandwich light up from power it has collected itself?  If you're chowing down on a prototype from the Florida Energy Systems Consortium then it might just do that (though probably not tasting particularly good in the process): they're working on the idea of layered OLED and solar-cell panels, which would capture sunlight during the day and recharge a back battery plane, before lighting up at night.

As well as reducing space the system would also avoid the need for a power inverter, since the solar-cells output direct current, the batteries store direct current, and the OLED panel runs off direct current.  The FESC reckon it could be ideal for parking lots or other installations where you want minimal maintenance.

[via OLED-Info]