Post-it notes are incredibly handy, but in some ways they can also be seen as quite a waste of paper as sometimes they can be used rather thoughtlessly. However the good news is that the folks at Microsoft Research have created a digital Post-it note that will pretty much last forever thanks to its ability to recharge itself.
Using e-paper, this digital Post-it note by Microsoft will feature solar panels on the back of it, and it seems that these solar panels are able to charge itself using nothing much than the ambient light inside of your office. This means that as long as the lights in your office are on, the solar panels on the device will be able to absorb it to keep itself powered.
Given that its display isn’t exactly high-resolution or that it is constantly updated does help go towards conserving battery life. The information displayed on the Post-it can be static, or users can choose to update it from two to sixty times an hour, depending on what they want to use it for. For example you could have it update every 15 minutes for weather updates, or every minute if you want to keep track of your stocks.
The only downside to this Post-it note is that you can’t write on it, meaning that if anything it feels more like a tiny display. However Microsoft Research reckons it has plenty of potential, such as using it on bicycles to point out directions, speed, and because it is using e-paper, it will be legible under the sun. There is no telling if Microsoft Research plans on actually making this into a commercial product, but we wouldn’t mind getting our hands on it.
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