Amongst all the laptop refreshes, monitor reveals and general CES 2024 tomfoolery, occasionally a product stands out as something a little bit different. Lenovo might be known more for its laptops and pre-built desktop machines than its peripherals, but today it announced a new proof of concept keyboard and mouse that may well be an indicator of how our wireless accessories might work in the very near future.
It’s called the Mechanical Energy Harvesting combo, and Lenovo says that both peripherals charge themselves by taking advantage of mechanical movement and solar irradiation.
Integrated into the top of the keyboard is what looks like a substantial solar panel to grab those precious rays, which as a concept is nothing particularly new. However, Lenovo says that these devices also charge themselves by harnessing the mechanical energy needed to use them. This is good news for those of us with a furious typing style, as presumably the more energy you put into those keys, the more of a charge these devices are going to receive.
Yep, that angry and hastily-typed email is now going to do some good saving the planet it seems, although sunlight may well be in short supply if, like me, you like to use your peripherals sat in the comforting darkness of a soft RGB glow.
As far as the solar power tech goes, Logitech has been making solar powered keyboards for a while now, and those of us that haven’t entirely blocked out our school memories have been familiar with solar powered devices like pocket calculators for some time.
However, with the addition of mechanical energy charging Lenovo says that these new devices may eliminate the need for external charging altogether, although no actual production model seems imminent to test that claim.
Still, it’s interesting to imagine a near future where our smaller devices were capable of charging themselves simply by the act of using them, and given that more and more of our peripherals are going wireless, it’s feasible to think that future devices may well take into account more eco-friendly options when it comes to powering them up.
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PC Gamer’s CES 2024 coverage is being published in association with Asus Republic of Gamers.
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