Despite how much we rely on it, we humans don’t really tend to think of light as a basic need—until it’s gone, and you realize just how much it’s needed. Disaster efforts focus on providing survivors with food, water, and shelter, but a city without electricity—and therefore, without any source of light other than the natural—is going to be dangerous. This is why the LuminAID, a portable LED light source, is such an amazing invention.
Designed by graduate students Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta, the LuminAID is a tiny, portable light source about the size of a smartphone, when it’s deflated. After being inflated through their built-in valves, the LED swells to something nearly the size of a pillow and uses the trapped air to diffuse the emitted LED light.
In order to charge one of the packs, simply leave it out in the sun during the day—afterwards, it should provide anywhere from ten to sixteen full hours of light during the night. Sreshta and Stork came up with the idea in order to help with earthquake-relief efforts in Haiti, through the Give Light, Get Light program.
The two architecture graduate students have since partnered with several non-profit groups, allowing them to deliver their device to relief efforts for Hurricane Isaac in Haiti, Hurricane Sandy here in the U.S., and other spots in half a dozen countries. The two even shared their invention at the White House Maker Faire.
“We hope to continue to have fun experimenting with ideas, making things by hand, and perhaps most importantly, effect positive change through our inventions,” said LuminAID co-founder Andrea Sreshta at the Faire, where she talked about the earliest incarnation of the light source—originally made with Radio Shack batteries, handheld heat-sealers, and a hodgepodge of solar panels.
The light source could also be a great gadget to have along for camping or travel. It would even make an excellent night-light. What’s more, if you purchase a LuminAID light pack for yourself, the company’s sponsorship program will donate a light to the relief organization of your choosing, to help those in need in Haiti, Ghana, India, and numerous other countries.
For more information, you can visit LuminAID.
Source Discovery
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