Japanese boffins demo sound-powered vibe lights

Boffins at the University of Tokyo have been demonstrating LED lights driven by directional sound waves, but reckon the technology for delivering electricity has even better applications. The installation consists of LEDs hung on wires around a large room, each LED being accompanied by a brace of microphones which pick up …

[Ugotta B. Kiddingme]

seems to me...

... that this is a solution in search of a problem. While very very clever and kewl, the efficiency of this method must be pretty low. That would make it pretty useless (in current form) in normal daily life.

Still... cheers for science.

[Graham Marsden]

"a solution in search of a problem."

That's what they said about the laser...!

[Pooua]

Getting Too Easy To Spend My Money

"Sound could deliver the power right to the user's pocket, and so negate the need to take out the card, with the added advantage that the user could hear when their card was being powered - making life much harder for the electronic pick-pocket."

Unless the pick-pocket is using ultrasound...

Regardless, I'm not keen on the idea that people could activate my card at will, even when it is in my pocket. I'd prefer to give explicit permission for an interaction. Otherwise, why not just use facial recognition (or, voice recognition, since this is a sound-powered article) to access my account? Who needs a card?

[Magani]

At last...

... a use for Muzac in lifts.

All very boffinish.

[Martin Huizing]

Finally my application can be presented to the patent office.

A sound powered hearing aid device!

"What? Speak louder, I can't hear you!"