A portable console with infinite power that you can’t stop playing with? That’s what Northwester University and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands set out to do. The result? A kind of Game Boy powered by solar energy that is capable of operating permanently without another source of energy.
The Solar Game Boy
According to one of the co-directors of the project, Josiah Hester, it is the first interactive device without a battery that collects energy from the user’s actions, and it is that by simply pressing one of the buttons we are generating energy to operate the machine. It’s an idea for a fully sustainable gaming device that could lay the foundation for a pretty hopeful future.
And yes, the technology it offers is quite rudimentary, but you have to start with something. The feat is tremendously important, since, by getting rid of the battery completely , these types of devices would serve to create sustainable gaming systems that will continue to entertain users.
How is energy generated?
The main source is solar, since the solar panels that are installed in the front are responsible for supplying power to the device. But, in addition, there will be another source of energy, and it will not be other than that of the user himself, since pressing the buttons will generate extra energy. The system is called ENGAGE, and the interesting thing is that they have managed to adapt the Game Boy system so that the original cartridges of the console can be used.
Still not perfect
For everything to work perfectly, its creators had to design the hardware and software to make the device extremely efficient. Its main novelty compared to the original Game Boy is the screen, since it is a fairly small LCD panel that will consume very little power when it is turned on.
The interesting thing is that, if the console runs out of power, a non-volatile memory will save the information at that precise moment, and the moment we have enough energy to bring the console back to life, the game will continue just for that. same moment where you left it. Regardless if you were in the middle of a jump or a conversation.
And of course, on cloudy days or when the light conditions are not optimal, the life of this peculiar console has its days numbered. To give you an idea, when the light conditions are favorable, the console works for 10 seconds, and rests for 1 second . That as long as they are games that do not require too many keystrokes, since, if they are action games in which you have to continuously press the buttons, the console collapses. And something important that you should know, the games work without sound for more than obvious power reasons.
There is still a long way to go, but there is no doubt that the future of this type of device is promising, since it would offer a completely sustainable option for the environment. The question is, how many solar farms does it take to run a PlayStation 5?