The Delft University of Technology is currently testing out a computer mouse that is powered by solar. It’s basically a mouse with a transparent top where the sun light can shine through.

They are testing the “willingness of the user to adapt his behaviour to favourable light conditions by regularly charging the unit with daylight from the window, and the computer usage pattern. With solar energy, under ideal circumstances charging can occur a factor of five times quicker than in the current situation. Over time it is estimated that several hundred million batteries could be saved annually on a global scale.”

It’s a cool idea. But I think this mouse is more for the casual computer user. They need to come up with some sort of chargestation for the mouse so that people can use the mouse even when it’s dark outside.

- Minister Cramer tests first solar-powered mouse