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The problem with the great outdoors has always been the lack of full mobile connectivity, electric lighting, and a power source for your laptop. The Orange Solar Concept Tent, which will debut in the UK starting today, in time for the Glastonbury rock festival, tackles these critical problems.

The tent uses “solar threads” woven into the fabric to collect energy. The inhabitants can adjust the tent’s movable panels to capture the best angle on the sun throughout the day. Inside the tent, a display shows how much solar energy the tent has captured throughout the day and how much energy is currently stored.

Orange is one of the most well-known wireless carriers in the UK, so naturally the tent includes a few extra features related to going mobile during the day, while the pod charges. “Glo-cation” technology allows you to send an SMS message to the tent, causing it to glow so it’s easy to find. (The tent also supports active RFID tags to accomplish the same goal.) While you sleep, you can charge your phone in a pouch that uses magnetic induction over a wireless signal, without any power cables.

The tent also includes a useful feature: an under-layer that heats up when the tent reaches a lower-than-ideal temperature.

black solar tent in nature during daytime

Solar Tent: Daytime

glowing solar tent in nature at nighttime

Solar Tent: Nighttime

The tent glows to show its location
illustrated cutaway of solar tent fabric

Solar Tent: Cutaway

“Energy collected by the photovoltaic fabric is transported around the Concept Tent by wires integrated in the flexible tent poles.”
Energy
Renewables
solar power