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Hardware ideas (feddit.ro)

submitted 1 year ago by may_pretender@feddit.ro to c/solarpunk@slrpnk.net

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Hi! I'll be participating in a hackathon next month in the hardware division. I was thinking of making something sollarpunk inspired. I'm posting this to ask for inspiration.

What is some of technology (esp. hardware) that you'd like to see implemented? What is a problem that you'd want solved that could have a potential hardware solution?

I know this is very vague, but I'm curious if anyone has some ideas to share :)

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[–] Lemmylefty@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’m not an engineer, so disregard if this is entirely too difficult or hard to explain, but: how about a device to capture energy from longboard wheels? I’m imagining a belt that attaches to the back two wheels to spin a motor. If it’s snug up against the center line, then it wouldn’t offset the board very much.

You could use balsa wood to make a miniature version, to test it out. It’s…barely solarpunk, in that the energy used to power the longboard comes from calories.

[–] TheSun@slrpnk.net 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

.... isn't this just an electric longboard? They have regen braking already most of the time

[–] Lemmylefty@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Probably? I was under the impression that those are battery powered, so you can use them to get up to speed. What I was imagining was just taking energy from it.

[–] TheSun@slrpnk.net 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes they have batteries, but you would need one to store the energy produced from the motor/generator. Either with a built-in battery, at which point its just an electric longboard, or by connecting it directly to your phone or something?

Or perhaps the idea could be scaled down and take inspiration from Dutch bikes by using a small dynamo to power a headlight and taillight or something like that not normally found on a basic longboard without the need for the added batteries or weight.

[–] Lemmylefty@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I like the idea of powering lights! Perhaps a strip all along the rim of the board that can change to red upon braking?

[–] may_pretender@feddit.ro 1 points 1 year ago

this sounds cool, and not too complicated to implement :)

[–] may_pretender@feddit.ro 1 points 1 year ago

To give some ideas as well, maybe there could be some addons powered from the electric longboard, but I can't really see how they could be useful. The main problem I see is that you'd need a wire coming from the longboard to the user / addon. this seems dangerous.

Maybe you can have the longboard battery be detachable, or have a smaller detachable batterry different from the main one that you could use for other tasks? (both being chardged either externally or through regenerative braking)

But tbh, I think such a project would overcomplicate and miss the point of the longboard.