One of the major benefits of using OLED technology is the very low levels of power they require. Toshiba has combined that fact with another technology that’s becoming more popular–wireless power transmission.
Typically, we see wireless power used to charge smartphones without the need to plug a cable into them directly. But what Toshiba has done is to integrate the inductive power system into the back of a small OLED panel. The result is a working light that requires no wires.
Toshiba decided the best way to show this system off during Lighting Fair 2013 in Tokyo this week was to create an configurable light unit. It takes the form of a square frame that can be filled with up to 9 wireless OLED panels. The frame provides power to any of the panels inserted into it, and as there’s no physical connection, you can reconfigure the shape of the light whenever you want.
The wireless power system wasn’t the only bit of tech Toshiba was showing off during the fair, though. The Japanese company has also managed to cut the amount of light a transparent OLED panel emits out the back significantly. Typically this is over 30 percent, but Toshiba has got that down to around 10 percent light bleed.
With so little light emitted from the back of the panel, and the fact it remains transparent, it becomes viable to use such a panel as a window. During the day it is turned off allowing natural light into a room, but at night it can be turned on to provide artificial light while blocking anyone’s view from outside. Alternatively, you have a completely clear lighting system that is a lot less noticeable when attached to a wall or ceiling and not in use.
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