Researchers have created a game boy who does not need batteries

Instead, all you need to do to play this game boy, officially called Engage, is finally get some sunshine and a ventic button button mashing. The solar panels attached to the front of the device provide its primary power, while your button presses help generate additional power.

This is not an accurate system and has some major flaws. When it’s not too cloudy outside, you can get 10 seconds of uninterrupted gameplay from Engage Game Boy before it closes for a second. It doesn’t even play any sounds. Thanks to an innovative framework for storing system state data in memory you can still play games continuously, allowing you to pick up where you left off, even when you lose power, while trying to make an accurate jump Super Mario Land. While not ideal, it allows you to play slower and faster games relatively easily.

More than just being fun DIY project, Engage is proof of concept. When they set out to build their Game Boy, the Engage team wanted to show that it was possible to create an interactive device that did not require batteries. They know that what they have created is only the first step. Your switch and other electronics do not require batteries so it works a lot more. But this is still an important step for the occasional computing sector.

“It wasn’t even possible four or five years ago,” said Josiah Hester, one of the computer scientists who worked on the project. CNET. Following the presentation of their results at the UB Camp meeting on September 15, the Engage team plans to continue working on their Game Boy. One of the things they want to do is find a way to reduce power outages.