Designers from Singapore have come up with a concept mouse that can use the heat generated by a laptop to power itself.

The DORmino mouse works by placing an oversize mousepad under a laptop which then collects the extra heat and turns it into electricity using silicon nanowires. The electricity is then sent to the mouse, resting on a different part of the pad, via an induction coil. This mousepad can be rolled up when not in use for easy transportation.

The mouse itself is an ordinary wireless mouse with the exception that it doesn’t ever need to be recharged. One of the more interesting features is a “touch screen scroller” which lets you scroll by moving your finger up and down a sensor on the mouse where an ordinary scroll wheel might be.

DORmino is pretty far-fetched, but is certainly feasible with today’s technology. However, it would probably be a bit expensive as all of this technology isn’t cheap. Either way, we love to see new eco-friendly innovations such as this. Diagram of how the DORmino works after the jump. Read more »

Smartphone company MWg has reportedly announced that later this year it will be offering handsets that don’t require cables to charge.

The new phones will use inductive charging, requiring only that the devices be placed near the charging device for a period of time. This is the same technology that’s in use in many electric toothbrushes and wireless headphones today.

There are still many problems with this system, however. Devices need to be left close to the charger, and charging takes much longer. The charging is also not as efficient as a cable because energy is lost to heat.

Although science is making headway with this technology, it’s still not good enough for use today. Hopefully, though, MWg has something up its sleeve that will surprise us all. Maybe a super-efficient wireless charger? Otherwise, we don’t expect huge sales of these handsets until the chargers are improved.