Many airplane passengers travel with the window shade pulled down – especially to block out the first rays of sunrise when you’re still trying to snatch that last hour of sleep.
Now there’s a window shade that’ll harness those bright beams and use them to recharge your smartphone or tablet.
The boffins at US aviation firm B/E Aerospace call it the ‘Solar Eclipse’.
A thin film of high-efficiency solar cells sits over the outside of the window shade, soaking up the sunshine and converting it into precious power which is delivered to your travel tech through a USB cable.
Although the system remains under development, B/E Aerospace is working on a production model which could soon be approved for fitting to any aircraft. Watch this space….