Bicycle Charger Kit for Mobiles February 11, 2011
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There was a major announcement today from Nokia about the release of cheap phones for the emerging markets, featuring dual sims and the ever useful LED flashlight. What is even more interesting is that with the launch of the phones, a bicycle charger kit. According to CNET Asia, the kit will be available by year’s end.
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Rounding up the announcements today is the Bicycle Charger Kit, which comprises a charger, dynamo and phone holder. When docked to the latter with a 2mm charger jack, the electrical generator will produce energy to juice up the handset. According to Nokia, the dynamo starts charging when the speed of the bicycle reaches 6kmh and stops when it hits 50kmh. It matches the efficiency of a normal charger when the bike is traveling at 12kmh.
The bicycle charger kit will be useful to many people in Kenya and other emerging markets, its only a matter of time before it is repurposed to charge other devices like small radios. All in all the phones seem AfriGadgetty, what with their dual sims; perfect for markets where people have more than one carrier – thinking of Nigeria here, where its not uncommon to see someone with multiple phones because of varying network coverage/dependability + LED flashlights, it is clear that Nokia is making products that have utility for millions of people around Africa. Personally I can’t wait to try out the phones and mobile kits as soon as I can get my hands on them. Come to think of it, this is hardware localization, something that could go hand in hand with the software localization we are clamoring for in the African market.
Mubarak Abdullahi’s home-made helicopter March 29, 2010
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This inventor has had no formal training in flying and his helicopter has never flown higher than 7 feet of the ground. In an interview, he talks about how the machine works:
“You start it, allow it to run for a minute or two and you then shift the accelerator forward and the propeller on top begins to spin. The further you shift the accelerator the faster it goes and once you reach 300 rmp you press the joystick and it takes off,”
Mubarak is ambitious however and has embarked on a new project to build a better helicopter that will be able to make 3 hour flights. He hopes to get support for his project from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other Nigerian government bodies.
Cameroonian Bamboo Magic
Our friend Bill Zimmerman, a technologist who runs a startup un-incubator called LimbeLabs in Cameroon, posted this interesting story on his blog about a teacher who makes an extra income by fabricating gadgets out of Bamboo.
Avid readers may remember the Bamboo Bike project, so the idea of using Bamboo as an alternative and sustainable material isn’t that far fetched. In fact, we’re glad that someone took the initiative and ventured into this field with so many different products at the same time. Bamboo Magic, really. Make sure not to miss out the video!
“I had an opportunity to stop by the 2009 South West Regional Agro-Pastoral Show, an annual exhibition for local farmers and craftsmen, here in Limbe this afternoon. The event was held on a community field ringed by exhibition booths overflowing with every imaginable vegetable, fruit and live animal cultivated and raised in the southwest region of Cameroon. In addition, there were a number of innovators with homemade products and gadgets crafted from local materials.
Amid all the displays, one guy stood apart with some creations that can only be described as a near perfect marriage of form, function, green design and a borderline obsession with bamboo. Lekuama Ketuafor is the proprietor of Bamboo Magic, a one-man cottage industry he’s started to supplement his work as a teacher.
Using a set of simple hand tools, glue, varnish, skill and loads of patience, Lekuama finds ways of using bamboo—a ubiquitous, low-cost, renewable material—in ways many people have never imagined. Judging from the size of the crowd gathered around his booth, I suspect few Cameroonians had seen anything quite like Lekuama’s creations before.
Among the intricately decorated bamboo shoes [2], vest, palm wine calabash, cowboy hat, clocks and so on, I was immediately attracted to two incredibly cool electronics-related pieces: a bamboo covered Nokia phone and an attractive and functional laptop case.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind January 25, 2010
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About the book
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is the story of William Kamkwamba, a young man from Malawi, who, at fourteen years old, battled through extreme poverty and hunger to build a series of windmills from scratch that could generate electricity – a luxury enjoyed by only 2 percent in Malawi.
In 2002, one of the worst famines in Malawi’s history killed thousands of people and forced the Kamkwamba family to the brink of starvation. It also forced William to drop out of school since his father, a maize and tobacco farmer, could no longer afford his school fees. But despite this setback, William was determined to get his education. He began visiting a local library that had just opened in his old primary school funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where he discovered a tattered British science book. With only a rudimentary grasp of English, he taught himself basic physics – mainly by studying photos and diagrams. Another book featured windmills on the cover and inspired him to try and build his own.
As his country reeled from hunger, William searched the scrap yards and found old tractor fans, shock absorbers, plastic pipe, and bicycle parts. People teased him and called him crazy, but he continued searching and tinkering and eventually build a crude machine that produced twelve volts and powered four lights. A second machine irrigated a family garden. News of his magetsi a mphepo – electric wind – spread beyond Malawi and William soon found himself traveling the world telling his remarkable story.
Flat parabolic mirror is not an oxymoron! January 7, 2010
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Can a parabolic mirror be flat? Dominic Wanjihias latest invention may prove that this is the most efficient way of capturing solar energy.
Everyone knows what a parabolic reflector is, right? It’s supposed to be a curved surface that collects energy by converging it towards a focus. Parabolic reflectors were invented a very long time ago and have been used in satellite dishes, spot lights and car headlights to name a few. They are also widely used for alternative energy projects to concentrate solar energy for heating and cooking.
Dominic (designer of the flexible solar vest, the solar dryer, and camel milk cooler for Somalia) thinks that the parabolic mirror should lose it’s shape which is an obstacle, to transportation and function.
So how does the flat parabolic mirror work? Dominic has cut inch wide 2 foot long pieces of flexible acrylic mirrors and arranged them at specifically computed angles. When angled towards the sun, this creates a perfectly focused beam of light.
This concentrated energy can be used to heat water in a pipe for numerous purposes including generating electricity. The beauty of this gadget is that
1. It is very cheap,
2. It can be quickly dismantled or moved,
3. It is easily transportable as it can be carried flat or in a tube,
4. It is easily repaired if broken as the individual mirror pieces can be replaced (rather than having to fix or replace an entire parabolic mirror).
Please note that this is part of Dominic Wanjihia’s ongoing project with Nairobi University and MIT’s FabLab where he is doing a course.
African Ingenuity December 22, 2009
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The knife-sharpening bicycle
Peter who has modified his bicycle with a belt, a set of tensional pulleys and a grinding stone to make it a knife-sharpening machine. By kicking the bike up onto its stand and engaging a gearing system, he is able to use “leg-horsepower” to drive a grinding wheel and sharpen knives while “on the move”.
Peter has been at this for 2 years now and he makes about Kshs 500 ( app. 10 US$) a day by riding his mobile workshop from client to client sharpening all their knives as he goes. The grinding stone he uses has lasted an astounding 2 years and he has had to replace his drive belt a couple of times but that is as simple as cutting up a long strip of rubber from an old car or bicycle tire inner tube.
Maker Faire Africa 2009 – NSBE Accra Poly Chapter- Best Inventors in Africa!
The National Society of Black Engineers – NSBE –Accra Polytechnic Chapter was awarded the best inventors in Africa at the just ended three day Maker Faire Africa (MFA)’ conference.
Maker Faire Africa (MFA), a celebration of African ingenuity, innovation and invention, took place on August 14-16 at the AITI Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT in Ghana’s capital, Accra.
NSBE –Accra Poly Chapter built an FM Station. The FM STATION which was built by three NSBE members was made up of Mixer, Stereo encoder, an Antenna (FM Broadcasting), Voltage Standing wave Ratio (VSWR) Meter, 150W Fm Exciter (Transmitter) and 50omhs coaxial cable. Other items presented include solar power inverter Electronic Locker and power inverter. The Fm station can cover about 30-35Km.
After the executives of the fair inspection, NSBE –Accra Poly Chapter was selected as the best inventors in Africa. They were awarded with some Electronic components, maker fair T-Shirt, solar bag and books and free air ticket to Kenya next year 2010 Maker Fair. Various tools were presented to the school (Accra Polytechnic) to assist the incoming inventors.
The first edition of Maker Faire Africa was successful by any standards. The 3-day event drew exhibitors from countries including: Brazil, Guatemala, Tibet, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Malawi, South Africa, Liberia, Pakistan, Uganda, Madagascar, India and Cote d’Ivoire.
The Kinshasa stove
After all these fascinating AfriGadgets from Maker Faire Africa, here’s another invention as seen by our friend Cedric Kalonji, a Congolese journalist in Kinshasa (D.R.C.):
For the lack of a cheap power supply in the City of Kinshasa, smart mechanics came up with this little stove that speeds up combustion by adding a little electric fan (hidden inside this tube that looks like being part of a flat spring). The fan itself is powered by (Chinese!) batteries and with the burning of charcoal, this quick stove obviously isn’t the greenest solution. But it works and does the job for those who will otherwise have no alternative.
Cedric also mentions on his blog post that it’s difficult to identify the inventor of this device. A perfect example of how low-cost technology easily gets adopted and/or modified (and why intellectual property rights are still a major issue in many places).
Soap Cutter
Though he has many more inventions in his workshop in Northern Ghana, the last of the three items that he brought to Accra was a soap cutter. It’s a device that has a hinge on one end that opens and closes with piano wires and guitar screws to hold wire tight across the device. As it is closed, it slices the soap cleanly.
Building Dominic Wanjihu’s Food Dryer
Dominic Wanjihia is from Kenya, and he’s here at Maker Faire Africa in Ghana because of the innovative designs and solutions that he comes up with for problems that ordinary Africans face. We had profiled one of his earlier inventions, an evapocooler for camel milk in Somalia, last year.
He’s been in Accra this last week working in the timber yards in Makola building a food dryer and a food cooler to show at the event. Both of them use air, and the dryer takes advantage of the heat from the sun. More detailed posts will be coming on them, but here’s a few shots of him and the carpenters building the devices.
Africa December 11, 2009
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Africa is well blessed with natural resources, yet its people are poor. Why are Africans poor..?
How can one continent be so out of step with humankind’s march of progress? (more…)
Welcome to my Home page ! December 10, 2009
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I ‘m Haruna Mohammed, the owner of this blog. I graduated from the University of Cape Coast-Ghana with a Bsc.Physics. My Ultimate aim is to help promote science and Technology in Africa.
I ‘m
• A highly committed individual who works to the best of his ability for the achievement of an organization’s mission and vision.
• Positive attitude, Very creative, self motivated, logical with an analytical mindset and good problem solving skills and techniques.
• A good leader, team player with proven competence in interpersonal and communication skills.
• Knowledge-hungry and with ready a disposition to learn and assimilate new and cutting edge technologies, adaptive with a can do attitude to face any challenges.
• Ability to learn quickly and work under pressure.
Currently, I intend to build energy machines that are very efficient and environmentally friendly. They include,
Self-powered electric car: An electric car that will not depend on external energy.
Road power: A machine that will convert the movement of vehicles into electricity.
Serial roaster: This machine will employs the bicycle technology where human power will be converted to electricity.
For more information contact me at rasoolmohammed200@yahoo.com. Thank you.
