April 18, 2013

Solar powered LuminAid Lantern gives out a Bagful of Light

by Sayan Chakravarty

At first glance this thing looks nothing short of being surreal, enigmatic diffused light out of a plastic bag. But this rechargeable lantern is more utilitarian than what it looks, named “LuminAid” it’s a brainchild of two architectural grad students from the USA who made this solar powered LED light in the wake of Haiti earthquake 2010, it was designed to provide affordable lighting to disaster hit people. It has a plastic bag (the translucent bag diffuses the light) that’s inflatable by the user, a solar panel and a lithium-ion battery to retain the charge. It measures 320 × 220 × 6mm when fully inflated.

It can be used as a part of mountaineering gear as a perfect lighting device for camps. The lantern is waterproof and can be used around pools, as floats, at night to provide soft diffused light. It takes 8 hours to charge it fully and can retain it for a month. It is priced at 3,360 Yen ($34).