Amped Up

Tom Jacobs
Jul 23, 2017 · 3 min read

Product Idea
A self-contained table top device that consists of a battery, solar charge controller, double USB 4A output sockets, and looks like the iPhone battery indicator:

Usage
Charging your phone at night. Place it on your bedside table. The cable to the panel runs long enough to reach to the window.

Inputs
A single retractable 10m long white cable running to the solar panel. White, so it runs along walls and looks fine. Retractable into the device so that it’s not an extra, losable piece of the product. Plugs on the end to plug into the solar panel.

Outputs
Dual 5V USB charge ports. Display of current battery level via internal diffused slight-green 5-level low-power LEDs.

The Wife Test
It needs to look nice enough to pass “The Wife Test”. The Wife Test is a simple test. Place the object in your home, and see how long it takes before your wife moves it away (or asks you to move it away). If it’s less than a week, then it has failed The Wife Test. In other words, it has to look great, or at least, not look out of place. Think of these two images below in contrast, which one would survive more than a few minutes on your kitchen table?

The Panel Installation
Some examples. Apartments, gardens, townhouses, terrace houses, semi-detached, window boxes, common flat roofs, free-standing bracket, bedroom and kitchen windows.

Australian Robotics Society

Tom Jacobs

Written by

Making robots.

Australian Robotics Society

The Australian Robotics Society is a community of robot builders.

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