Shades Power Gadgets With Solar Energy

Shaped like an 8 for maximum douchebaggery

Blast from a past: The Infinite Energy: SIG are a "Self-Energy Converting Sunglasses" design concept has a simple premise. Solar cells embedded into the lens through the magic of nanotechnology capture sunlight and turn it into solar energy. And like any other gadget (concept or otherwise) designed to store power, SIG powers other gadgets.

This is a great concept, because it reinforces this sensible advice: only wear sunglasses when it's sunny! People wear shades at night for some reason, for the sake of "style". The SIG further emphasizes the uselessness of light-blocking eyewear in low-light conditions.

But we digress. On the top of SIG's left lens is a bright red power button. The cable to connect the shades to whatever gadget plugs into either earpiece, with what looks like a miniUSB plug on the other end.

Unfortunately, no other info on the concept—like how much power it supposedly provides and battery capacity—were available as of this writing. And with this concept debuting way back in 2008, it's doubtful that designers Hyun-Joong Kim & Kwang-Seok Jeong were able to push their concept to the market. Know otherwise? Hit the comments below.

Multifunctional shades: Sunglasses that can power your gadgets