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Anker's SOLIX Solar Umbrella Portable Power
Anker's SOLIX solar umbrella offers an easy way to generate power in your backyard or at the beach.
Anker announced the SOLIX solar umbrella at CES 2025. The umbrella is lined with perovskite solar cells, which may be more effective than regular panels in both bright and low light. This enables the umbrella to possibly generate more power in less space, though we won't know for sure until the umbrella is available for purchase.Anker is promising up to 100 watts of output, which pales compared to a fixed array that can supply thousands of watts per hour (our rooftop system currently generates over 11,000). Still, that makes it more capable than foldable 50w solar panels and more in line with 100w briefcase panels commonly offered alongside portable power stations.
(Via HowtoGeek.)
I'm pretty sure that science fiction author David Brin was thinking about something like this in his excellent 1990 novel Earth (from which I've extracted 26 unique science fiction ideas and predictions):
Then he saw the geek - a codger this time - leaning against one of the slender stalks of a sunshade-photocell collector, looking directly at the three of them.(Read more about the Sunshade-Photocell Collector)
Brin's novel Earth predicted dozens of technology developments; see almost fifty Science Fiction in the News articles related to Earth by David Brin for a list.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 1/15/2025)
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Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
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