Sunglasses could double as smart phone chargers

Would it not be great if your sunglasses could double up as chargers for your smart phone. US-based Indian designer Sayalee Kaluskar, who hit upon this ingenious idea, now plans to put it to good use with the Ray-Ban Shama Shades.

The concept owes it ingenuity to the simplicity of fitting the eyewear with two solar panels one on each arm. The panels are virtually invisible showing up only as gridded designs on either side. While the user is out in the sun, the device keeps soaking solar energy.

When the users' handset is in need of a shot of extra power, they need to only detach one or both of the detachable arms and attach it to their phone via the charging port.

This alternate charge method for charging an iPhone has been created as part of a project for Miami Ad School, San Francisco and though it is not in the market yet, it is hoped that the concept would be picked up by the brand sooner rather than later.

But, according to some commentators, the idea would need some rigorous testing. They point out that the energy would, presumably be stored throughout the body of the sunglasses, but this might not be technically viable. They say smart phones sucked down lot of power, and solar power tended to be rather sluggish as compared to wall power when transferring power.

The Shama promises to go a long way in solving one of the most pressing-but-ignored challenges in smart phone technology, namely battery life. But, for that to happen, someone would need to light the way to making ''Shama'' a reality.