BY MOUNA ANDRAOS
An old idea from yesterday's streets adapted to serve the needs of today's urban dwellers,
the Power Cart is a mobile unit that delivers alternative energy to people in the streets.
Street vendor have traditionally played an important role in defining the urban environment and often speaks to the current social and cultural context of a city. In most parts of the world (and if the weather permits it), the street is a place where social interactions abound and where commerce rules, and street vendors around the globe bring to local populations the things they need right at their door steps.
Knife sharpening in India, refills of gas in Africa, fake Gucci bags in Paris and chair massages in New York, the Power Cart looks and feels like another service for the city of today. Need a charge on your cell phone? Your laptop is about to die and you really need to check that email? Or maybe there is no power around you at all? Where ever you might be in the world, hail the Power Car for a quick fix. Let the Power Car owner turn the crank for you and get the electricity you need, one minute of cranking at a time.
The power cart in action
The Power Cart is made from scavenged and recycled materials.
it functions using a hand crank and the entire alternator inside of it is being built from scratch. The cart might also has small solar panels attached to it to allow maximum efficency. While no devices are being charged, the cart will still be storing energy for future usage both thourgh manual cranking and through harvesting power from the wheels when in motion.
Users will be able to stop by the cart for a very quick power boost or leave their device for a longer charge if needed.
How to build your own Power Cart, details coming on electroniccrafts.org .
BIO, BACK STORY
Mouna Andraos is an R&D fellow at the Open Lab, Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology in New York City. She recently completed her Master's degree at the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP), Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. missmoun.com
This project is produced at Eyebeam's OpenLab. Instructions on how to build your own Power Cart will be published in the public domain.