Indoor Light Scavenging on Smartphones

Abstract

There is a limited amount of scavenging alternatives for smartphones. We assess the feasibility of using indoor light to extend smartphones' battery life. We build a prototype charger that demonstrates that indoor light scavenging is a practical method that can substantially extend battery life on smartphones. The results show that it is feasible and practical to extend battery life with this energy harvesting method. We finally discuss certain obstacles that need to be overcome, especially the redesign of operating systems to account for energy harvesting.