INTEL SOURCE LINK: Dailymail.co.uk
The idea of putting a solar panel on a car might sound like an eco pipe-dream – but Philips and chemical giant BASF have unveiled a totally transparent solar panel that works as a see-through sun roof, charger and light in one.
Organic LED panels are the sharp, bright screens used in many smartphones.
The new screen sandwiches hi-tech materials to let the OLED panels work as a light when the car is dark – and charge themselves using solar cells sandwiched into the glass.
‘This combination allows the driver to enjoy a unique open-space feeling while it generates electricity during the day and pleasantly suffuses the interior with the warm light of the transparent, highly efficient OLEDs at night,” said Dr. Felix Görth, head of OLED at BASF.
The technology has been shown off in a Smartvision concept car, which also shows off a transparent dashboard. But the transparent panel technology is real, fruits of a collaboration between BASF stretching back to 2006.
Philips is a leader in OLED technology, and claims that panels using the low-power, high-intensity technology will become a mainstream option for lighting in 2012, with people opting to light their homes with glowing panels instead of bulbs.
Read Full Aricle
PDF
