A French designer has come up with a digital bonsai tree that would charge gadgets like smartphones and tablets.
Vivien Muller, the French designer, calls the Bonsai tree 'Electree+'. The tree sports 27 high-quality amorphous silicon square solar panels, each measuring close to 3.7-inches. These solar panels are designed to look like leaves and are placed at the end of branches. The device resembles a bonsai plant.
"Nature has selected over millions of years the most efficient structures to capture solar energy. The tree's shape is thus the best means to take advantage of solar energy. While studying fractals, I realized that one could draw a tree by repeating and transforming a basic pattern. ", said Vivien Muller, describing his inspiration for the Electree+, reported Kickstarter.
The technology website claimed that the concept of an electric tree charger by Vivien was first conceived way back in 2008. The idea didn't incite much that time.
The new Electree+ charger is an improved and better version of its predecessor. The inventor claims that the Electree+ is fitted with adjustable solar leaflets to maximize sunlight absorption.
The Electree+ sports a battery with a capacity of 14, 000mAh. Fully charged, it can charge an iPhone 5 nine times over and an iPad 2 twice without exposure to light.
The bonsai tree charger has two USB ports - one for smartphones, which requires less power and another one for tablets for faster charging.
The Electree+ is embedded with an NFC chip to enable wireless device charging as more smartphone makers, like Nokia, Samsung and others, are releasing their products with wireless charging pads.
The Electree+ requires 36 hours to get fully charged.
Techcrunch website claimed that the amazing product is promoted through website advertiser Kickstarter. The product is listed at $199. The company expects its product to exceed at least 1000 pre-sales this holiday season to get more funds to start large-scale manufacturing. If everything goes according to plan, the company intends to launch Electree+ Charger globally by May 2013.
Green enthusiasts will welcome Electree+, which is expected to help control carbon footprint by emulating green initiatives like using renewable energy sources.
