Microsoft announced an interesting piece of technology that will change the way you insert batteries. The InstaLoad Battery Technology doesn’t take into consideration positive or negative polarity, allowing you to simply insert a battery however you wish. I don’t know about you, but I have to find another flashlight to see the tiny polarity sign in the flashlight whose batteries need replacing. With InstaLoad, I don’t have to worry about polarity, which is a pretty crazy concept but the science and physics behind it seems to work. Already, there are companies such as Duracell and AE lining up to use this patented technology in their products.
Use of this technology includes products that require constant battery changes (Nintendo Wiimotes come to mind), military devices used in unfavorable environmental conditions, and products that use many batteries at once. Microsoft highlights products used in law enforcement, outdoor camping and sports, and construction. Interestingly enough, the patent will not require any additional power usage, nor expensive electronic circuitry. It is set to work with common batteries such as AA, AAA, C, D, and CR123. Microsoft is even offering royalty-free licensing to manufacturers of accessibility devices, which is certainly a nice gesture to people who would use these products on a daily basis.
No word on when companies will start integrating this technology into their products, but hopefully it will be soon because it is a great idea and should be very helpful.