The next time you are out hiking and your cell phone battery gives up, don’t worry for there is help at hand. Three engineering students from Houston’s DeVry University have created a backpack which can recharge your phone and many other instruments using solar cells on its surface. The Eco-friendly Survival Backpack has a detachable solar panel which can power many utility items like satellite phones, walkie-talkies, distress signal lights, heaters, and even your laptop. It could be an asset for Wildlife experts and other professionals, who go out on patrols in secluded areas. The invention could also be useful in survival situations.
Three students Jimmy Expinoza, Luis Soriano and William Campoverde spent three months and 680 dollars on the project. The students made use of 150 solar cells and burned through 20 while soldering them together into a working panel. The pack includes a detachable 12-inch by 18-inch solar panel which contains 60 solar cells.
The university is proud of its students as the Parks department of Texas has shown keen interest in the product. The Dean of engineering and technology of DeVry University’s expressed that the product was a manifestation of the encouragement given to do something unusual. Moreover, support from government departments and the corporate world help the resolve of students to keep on the innovation curve.
Via: Chron
