My bright idea

So my research project last year was about bringing light to a small village in India. I didn't actually complete it but I made some progress.

You see the problem in India is not so much power availability as security. It's available at obscure hours and very unpredictably. This makes working at night particularly difficult, and can effect such simple tasks as cooking, using the toilet, or studying. My problem was to create some appropriate technology that would improve safety and study opportunities by providing a mobile, easily powered light source.

My first idea was to use some sort of bicycle --->induction generator ---> battery ---> rechargeable battery ---> lamp, but the more I thought about this the less convined I became, the system would be very expensive, albeit technologically appropriate. Potentially the inhabitants of my small Indian village might be malnourished, and less able to operate suh machinery.

I was inspired eventually by the everlasting torch that my mother bought me for Christmas. Much like the wind-up radios that are popular in Africa, cheap energy is created using simple, easy body motions. Using LED technology I could create an efficient flashlight design, powered either by a crank or by the motion of a magnet being shaken inside a coil, combined with capacitors or rechargeable batteries. Using a nearby fablab, initial prototypes could be produced, and given a successful launch, a manufacturing plant could help bring more business to the community. spin-offs could include a more permanent fixed lighting system for domestic use, or a lantern style system for greater illumination.