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World's First Solar-Powered Smartwatch Harvests Both Natural and Artificial Light
A big problem with smartwatches is that, compared to traditional watches, the internal battery can easily run out of juice.
But a San Francisco-based startup has taken a major step in solving this problem by creating the LunaR, which claims to be the world's first solar-powered smartwatch.
"We love watches, we LOVE technology AND we hated the fact that we're always stressed out about recharging our devices," the company touts on their Kickstarter crowdfunding page. "We felt those elements hadn't been tackled and we wanted to expressed a harmonious connection between the beauty and simplicity of an elegant timepiece with the 'smarts' of a smartwatch."
Casio and Citizen already make solar-powered wristwatches, but the LunaR appears to be the first smartwatch that can run off of the sun's rays.
A transparent solar panel made by France-based Sunpartner covers the watch face. Inside the watch is a 110-mAh lithium-polymer battery that can supposedly run with as little as one hour of artificial or natural light.
"With a full charge, the battery will last up to at least 3 months, depending on the amount of notifications you're receiving. If you're able to collect passive sun while outside each day for like 1 hour (with a exposure greater than 10K LUX), then you (almost) never have to charge your watch again," the company said.
The watch works with a companion smartphone app to offer features such as sleep and activity tracking, integration with social media and messaging apps, and can auto-update the time wherever you are using the phone's GPS. Notifications are displayed on the embedded LED or through vibration technology. It's also waterproof up to 164 feet and comes with a traditional USB charger for backup.
LunaR's successful crowdfunding campaign has already racked up more than 500 backers to date. Models start at an early-bird price of $138 on the site.
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Dairy aisles have exploded with milk and milk alternative options over the past few years, and choosing the healthiest milk isn't just about the fat content.
Whether you're looking beyond cow's milk for health reasons or dietary preferences or simply want to experiment with different options, you may wonder which type of milk is healthiest for you.
Greta Thunberg, the teenage climate activist whose weekly school strikes have spurred global demonstrations, has cut short her tour of the Americas and set sail for Europe to attend COP25 in Madrid next month, as The New York Times reported.
At least 1,688 dams across the U.S. are in such a hazardous condition that, if they fail, could force life-threatening floods on nearby homes, businesses, infrastructure or entire communities, according to an in-depth analysis of public records conducted by the the Associated Press.
By Sabrina Kessler
Far-reaching allegations about how a climate-sinning American multinational could shamelessly lie to the public about its wrongdoing mobilized a small group of New York students on a cold November morning. They stood in front of New York's Supreme Court last week to follow the unprecedented lawsuit against ExxonMobil.
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By Alex Robinson
Leah Garcés used to hate poultry farmers.
The animal rights activist, who opposes factory farming, had an adversarial relationship with chicken farmers until around five years ago, when she sat down to listen to one. She met a poultry farmer called Craig Watts in rural North Carolina and learned that the problems stemming from factory farming extended beyond animal cruelty.
Temperatures plunged rapidly across the U.S. this week and around 70 percent of the population is expected to experience temperatures around freezing Wednesday.
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Two people have died as Venice has been inundated by the worst flooding it has seen in more than 50 years, The Guardian reported Wednesday.
Trump Organization to Pay $290,000 for Failed Legal Fight Against Scottish Wind Farm
President Donald Trump doesn't like wind turbines.
In April, he claimed they caused cancer, and he sued to stop an offshore wind farm that was scheduled to go up near land he had purchased for a golf course in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. He lost that fight, and now the Trump Organization has agreed to pay the Scottish government $290,000 to cover its legal fees, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.