ENERGY RELATED..SOLAR POWERED PILLOW

Solar powered pillow gives light at night

LuminAid is an inflatable plastic pillow that’s also a powerful lantern. It is meant for the poor who have no access to electricity and is currently being tested in India

Alot of people in India and the world live without electricity, Which is why graduate students from Columbia University have launched a campaign to deliver their solar-rechargeable lanterns the packs flat and inflates to create a lightweight, waterproof source of light. Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta have designed the solar lantern called LuminAID, at first glace it looks like a small plastic bag with a white-dot pattern. But the LuminAID is actually an inflatable plastic pillow with a thin solar panel and two coin-sized batteries. The device inflates to produce light that is similar to the quality a lantern provides. The white-dot pattern on the bag diffuses the light. LuminAID can work for up to four hours with the lighting at 35Lumens, or up to six hours at 20 lumens. The four hour setting, which is ‘High’ on the device is designed for reading and working in the night. The Six hour setting ‘Low’ can be used as a night light. The device requires four to six hours of sunlight to fully charge and the batteries can be charged a maximum of 800 times. The inventors consider the lamp a good safe alternative to dangerous kerosene lamps, used in India and other parts of the world. The students plan to start a “Buy One, Gift One” concept where people can get their own LuminAID for $25. The money which LuminAID collects will go to sending the lights to needy families around the world. As a field test, LuminAID is working with organizations to distribute the light in Rajasthan, India, where they say one in two households lack electricity. The LuminAID lights will be used in rural schools, homes and by small-business owners. You can visit their Web site at www.luminaidlab.com.

MM 19nov11