December 10, 2004
MIT LFM Tiger Team Takes On Kinkajou Power Challenge
Students enrolled in MIT’s Leaders for Manufacturing Program in fall 2004 partnered with DtM to help identify a low-cost (stretch target set at US$25 at volume), 5-15W (or 15-50 W-hr/day) off-grid power supply to run the Kinkajou.
Team members Yue Cathy Chang, Hong Hong, Manish Jhunjhunwala, Todd Ruddick and Jeremy Weinstein explored a range of solutions from human power to biomass to micro turbines and pico-hyrdo to fuel cells and solar arrays. In the end, they recommended two alternatives for DtM to consider, including a model for a micro-franchise built around energy rental. Click here to see their report and recommendations.
The Kinkajou is representative of useful low-power appliances for underserved communities, from medical devices to teaching tools, that appear slightly too big for a Freeplay-style hand-crank, and very small to justify the expense of a major solar power installation.
See their final presentation: [MS PPT][PDF]
