Audio Powered LEDs - Stage Lighting's Future?

Here's an interesting development that could signal a major advance in stage and concert lighting - audio powered LEDs. Yes, researchers at Hirose-Tanikawa Group at the University of Tokyo have developed an LED that can actually be powered by nothing but audio.

An experimental setup of the new system uses an off-the-shelf speaker to deliver an ultrasonic sound wave which is converted into power by a circuit board covered in microphones. The power yield is only about 10mW at a distance of about 20 inches, and that drops to just 1 mW at 16 feet, but it's enough to power low-energy electronics like LEDs. Don't forget, this is still experimental, so there's lots of room for the eventual improvement in the technology.

This technology can eventually be used as a new way to deliver wireless power to all sorts of devices, not just LEDs, from greater distances. But getting back to stage and concert lighting, imagine your whole lighting rig being powered by nothing but music!

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