Students at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have designed a light, modern solar solution to enable students to charge their mobile devices under the sun on campus.
The ‘Tower of Power’ is an off-grid kiosk built with lightweight but durable materials and fitted with solar panels positioned for optimum efficiency.
The kiosk has eight seats in and around it to allow students to sit down and interact while their devices charge. It’s also connected to an application that allows students to see how many ports are available at any time.
QUT Electrical Engineering Student Society (QUT EESS) president, Vishnu Kumar Arun, said design students were invited to propose a structure for a smart solar mobile charging station.
“The students went above and beyond and created something that is truly innovative and that embodies the Internet of Things (IoT) and electronics projects developed by our engineering team.”
The winning students, chosen from four finalists in the competition, worked closely with the engineering teams of QUT EESS to modify the solution design for fabrication and real-world implementation and are now field testing it on campus.
The hope is to expand on the project and get similar kiosks in place in other universities and organisations countrywide with a commercially viable solution.
Support for the project was provided by Vertiv, formerly known as Emerson Network Power.