Presentation+Material

=**The Problem and Context**=

Many of the developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa lack the necessary infrastructure to sustain minimal living conditions. More specifically, the selective nature of these nations' power grid systems are hardly beneficial to the dispersed villages in rural areas. These rural areas contain majority of the continents population and many of them struggle to attain essential resources such as water and shelter. In the article written by Stephen Karekezi and Waeni Kithyoma, they point out the lack of electrical grid systems and how they are inefficient for largely dispersed villages in rural Africa (Karekezi and Kithyoma 2002).

Karekezi and Kithyoma's research emphasizes the core problems regarding power accessibility and why it is difficult to establish such infrastructures in Sub-Saharan Africa. To begin with, their research points out that most of these countries' populations (that are located in rural areas) are living below the poverty line; moreover, the percentage of electrified rural households rarely exceeds 2.1%. They also note that it is impossible for individual households to afford renewable energy systems such as photovoltaic panels or wind turbines.

In general, energy use in rural areas can be subdivided into three categories: household energy, energy for agriculture and energy for small and micro-enterprises (SMcEs). From the content presented in class, our group decided to focus on developing an energy solution for small and micro enterprises that are beginning to grow out of these rural areas through mobile electronic devices. There is a wide range of SMcEs in rural Sub-Saharan Africa and many of them rely on family/household members with limited use of non-household members such as small shops, beer halls and battery recharging centers. Our group aims to redesign these recharging centers to make them more accessible in rural areas since the other two are heavily dependent on biomass fuel consumption including gasoline, wood, or coal. =**What Inspired our Solution**=

Scenario 1: Farmers in Rural China []
 * Cultural Inspirations**

Much of the rapid growth in Chinese demand for mobile phones and computers once came from the country's major cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai. Years of fast-paced economic growth and rising salaries have led to slower growth, as most urban Chinese residents already own a cell phone.To maintain rapid growth for mobile phones, companies have been forced to look to China's smaller cities and rural areas. Launched last year, China Mobile's [|Agricultural Information Service] provides advice on how to raise crops and animals, as well as weather, news, and information on market prices for various products. The information can be accessed using phones or the Internet. Subscribers pay 2 renminbi per month for each category of information they receive.

At the end of June, the Agricultural Information Service had 24.8 million subscribers, up 40 percent from the end of last year.

[]

Rural Chinese are most likely to be mobile-only Internet users, as they are less likely to own a computer than their urban-dwelling equivalents.

Indeed, in rural areas as much as 45 percent of Internet access is mobile-only, that’s against 29 percent in urban areas. On that point, it is interesting to note that 25 percent of mobile users (and, within that, 30 percent of smartphone owners) in China are already using mobile banking services, according to On Device.

Senario 2: Natural disaster in pacific Asia http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTINFORMATIONANDCOMMUNICATIONANDTECHNOLOGIES/Resources/The_Role_of_Mobile_Phones_in_Sustainable_Rural_Poverty_Reduction_June_2008.pdf In 2007, during severe flooding in Indonesia, DiGi was able to identify all its subscribers in Malaysia that were registered as being immigrants from Indonesia and offered them free airtime. Mobile operators have also been active in disaster relief efforts in Pakistan and Thailand, providing emergency-related communications infrastructure. In case of emergency situations and natural disasters, a mobile phone is often the best way to communicate and seek help.

Our stations can be build quickly after the disaster. Providing electricity for areas that electricity is not fully recovered. Survivor can use this advice to charge their phone in order to make sure they stay in touch with their relatives and families for safety. They can also use the cellphone as a source of light in the dark since they have no electricity and they may need light to do their task.

Senario 3: phone ladies in Africa []

South Africa, on the other hand, with its booming economy, is Africa’s biggest mobile phone market as of now, with nearly 25 million subscribers. South Africa is followed by Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco. However, it is in less-developed countries that the statistics are most startling. The Democratic Republic of Congo, population 60 million, has 10,000 fixed telephones but more than a million mobile phone subscribers. In Chad, the fifth-least developed country, mobile phone usage jumped from 10,000 to 200,000 in three years. A lack of electricity has not proved a hindrance: roadside vendors charge mobile phones with car batteries. As the signal coverage expands, cheaper phones and calls fuel growth. []

phone ladies” in Bangladesh, which is considered one of the world’s poorest countries. Women use microcredit to buy specially designed cellphone kits costing about $150, each equipped with a long-lasting battery. They then set up shop as their village phone operator, charging a small commission for people to make and receive calls.


 * Technological Inspirations**

**1)Product Name: Eton Raptor** NSP200WXGR Solar Charge Radio with All-terrain Guidance Functions; Monocrystal solar panel, solar powered USB phone charger, Digital Display, Alimeter, Barometer, Compass, Chronograph, AM/FM/Weatherband radio, NOAA weather alert, 20 presets, Digital clock/alarm, splash proof (IPX-4 rated), Audio line in, battery charge indicator, bottle opener, carabiner, dc input (not included)

**2) Product Name:** ** Solar charger (SC700U) ** Fashion design, easy to carry, travel, health protection of green energy solar energy  Battery indicator, humanized design work, and work  Widely used mobile phone/GPS/MP4 / digital camera/electronic product such as emergency charging  For outdoor workers and business travel emergency standby  Supports most 3G phones on the market, such as: apple 3GS / 3G / 4 DuoPuDa nokia samsung, etc...  Support UBS pattern input/output charge  Support USB/power adapter/solar recharge patterns  Support output automatic voltage for: 5 v  Charging efficiency, 1000mA maximum output current for mobile phones, will vary  Input/output two-way power management, charging automatic protection function Imported monocrystalline or polycrystalline silicon solar panels  supports 4-5 phone is fully charged, the built-up to 5600mAh environmentally friendly polymer battery  With high brightness LED illuminator, far beyond 30 hours above can provide illumination  Aluminum and magnesium alloys and ABS plastic <span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> Attachment is equipped with various electricize adapter USES <span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> Host size 121.5 (L) X 77 (W) X 15 (H) mm

=**Our Design Solution**=

What is our product?

Because so many rural communities in Southern Africa exist without running water and electricity, it is difficult to imagine how and where they charge their electronic devices. Our solution to this problem is a charging kiosk, the "PV PowerBox" where all members of the community can come and charge their electronic devices. It will function as a multi-port charging station, located in a convenient and central location for the surrounding community. This charging station will use solar power as an energy source as it is efficient, effective, and environmentally friendly.

How does it work?

As stated, the charging station will be powered using energy harvested from the sun. This technology is called //photovoltaics//. This process involves “the direct conversion of light into electricity at the atomic level” (NASA). Nasa describes how this process works: “Some materials exhibit a property known as the photoelectric effect that causes them to absorb photons of light and release electrons. When these free electrons are captured, an electric current results that can be used as electricity.” (NASA) This energy is used by creating solar cells, which are arranged to create a solar module, and then are used to form what is called an array (NASA). These arrays are grouped to maximize the energy that can be collected and used to generate electricity. The conditions in this region of the world have created an “ideal market for decentralized energy technologies” ” (Karekezi & Kithyoma) due to the fact that they “match the dispersed nature of sub-Saharan Africa’s rural population” ” (Karekezi & Kithyoma). It is also ideal because the “ new and innovative electrification technologies” ” (Karekezi & Kithyoma) are “not only be cost effective but also environmentally sound” ” (Karekezi & Kithyoma).

Our charging kiosk will be placed in a central location so that it will be accessible to several rural villages. We estimate that it will serve a community of 300 people, approximately. We understand that every single person in the village does not necessarily own or need their own mobile device, as it is currently quite common for people in low-income communities to share the device among a group of people. With this in mind, the kiosk will offer charging services for 32 vaults with 3 outlets in each vault. Within each vault there will be adapters that accomodate different battery needs so users will be able to use the service no matter what kind of device they own. The system is mainly composed of a PV module, an active sun tracker, a highstep-up converter, a full-bridge inverter, a system controller and an output load.

For many people in this region, the cell phone signifies privacy and security, as “ popular mobile services include money transfers, allowing people without bank accounts to send money by text message”(Smith) and also, “many farmers use mobiles to trade and check market prices”(Smith). We are not alone in the belief that the “provision of modern energy services to this large segment of Africa’s population is…of paramount importance” (Karekezi & Kithyoma). It is with this in mind that we would like to extend this feeling of security with the implementation of our charging kiosk. The kiosk will have compartments that will house the mobile device for the desired charging duration. Each compartment will lock once the device is plugged in and the door is closed. To set up the passcode, the user must enter the password they would like to use before opening the door of the vault. This password can be any number and must comprise of 4-16 digits. In case of forgotten passwords, and to avoid having a charging station full of inaccessible devices, the compartment will have a timer that will allow it to unlock after 8 hours. This will also encourage people to come back and collect their devices before the timer unlocks the compartment and will give other people a chance to use the charging station. There will be 32 vaults on each one of these products. According to the populations and the proximity of the people, we will decide where and how many PV Power Boxes will be planted.

In creating the PV Power box, we kept in mind the economic ability of small rural villages to fund such a project. The expense of the PV Power Box might seem a bit pricey for these communities, but there is no doubt that "investments in electricity services, particularly in rural areas, are critical to improve conditions" (Ghanadan et. al). It is important to keep in mind that "solar electricity is 'connective power' for rural people" (Ghanadam et. al), and that in providing them with an environmentally sound and cost effective way of charging their mobile devices, we are essentially enabling their "connective power". The price of introducing PV technology in a household has been known to cost anywhere from 21% to 60% of that household's income(Karekezi & Kithyoma), however this is the cost for a PV system that would power a house, and the cost would fall solely on the family that owned the house. There is no exact cost for the PV Power Box, as it does not yet exist, but we can only estimate that it would cost significantly less than it would to power a house. Also this cost could be dispersed throughout the communities that the PV Power Box would be serving. If everyone in the communities agreed to install a PV Power Box, they could all pay a fraction of the cost. It is also significant to note that the people investing in the PV Power Box would pay this one time fee, the box would be free of charge for all users. Therefore, many communities could benefit from the PV Power Box if they come together to fund it.

How will it benefit the communities?

We hope that our charging kiosk will enable inhabitants of rural communities to use Information Communications Technologies and encourage local economic growth. There is already evidence to show that people are using mobile devices in these regions to do business, and we believe that our charging station will only help to extend this communication network. We also hope that by creating accessibility through the PV Power Box, we will be extending the sense of security through the use of mobile devices.

The community will also benefit from a technology that is environmentally sound. By using a PV system and incorporating mostly recycled materials, the PV Power Box will not be harmful to the inhabitants or their surroundings.

Works Cited

“How do Photovoltaics Work?” Gil Knier. //NASA Science News//. NASA, 2002. Web. 15 March, 2012.

Smith, David. “ Africa calling: mobile phone usage sees record rise after huge investment”. //The Guardian: UK//. Guardian News and Media Limited, 22 Oct. 2009. Web. 16 Mar. 2012.

Stephen Karekezi, Waeni Kithyoma. “Renewable energy strategies for rural Africa: is a PV-led renewable energy strategy the right approach for providing modern energy to the rural poor of sub-Saharan Africa?”, //Energy Policy//, Volume 30, Issues 11–12, September 2002, Pages 1071-1086. Web. 17 Mar. 2012.

Ghanadan, Rebecca, Jacobson, Arne, Kammen, Daniel M., and Moner-Girona, Magda. “Decreasing PV Costs in Africa”. //Re-Focus//. Elsevier Ltd., 2006. Web. 17 Mar. 2012.

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