Hybrid Supercapacitor Earrings

While diamond earrings may sparkle brightly, if you’d like a pair of attention-demanding ear adornments at a fraction of the price of compressed carbon, then these rechargeable hybrid supercapacitor earrings by Sander van de Bor (California STEAM) may be worth a look. Each features 12 red and 12 green 1x1mm LEDs, surrounding a hybrid LIC (lithium-ion capacitor) power source in the middle.

The earrings are each controlled by an ATtiny1616 processor, which is able to display 12 patterns that are selected via a user interface pushbutton. While not the RGB or RGBW LEDs one might expect with such a design, the two colors are able to combine nicely for a variety of very neat looks. Presumably using discreet LEDs helps make the device very power efficient, and it’s able to run for up to 30 hours. Less efficient all_solid and all_mix patterns cut that time down to around 10 hours. Any of its programmed modes should get you through all but the most extreme illumination events!

From a technical standpoint, the real star of the show is the earrings' LIC power source – as of now each has a Tecate TPLC-3R8/10MR8X14 hybrid supercapacitor, though this will likely change in the future – which recharges in 5-7 minutes, and can be charged up to 500,000 times. A little back-of-the-envelope math works out to well over 1000 years of charging / use / discharging in the most efficient modes, at which time its modern USB-C connector will certainly be obsolete technology.