[Product] - Solar Lantern Bracelet: "Aahana" (2011)
Industrial Design, Interaction Design
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121
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[Product] - Solar Lantern Bracelet: "Aahana" (2011)
Industrial Design, Interaction Design
881
121
0
Solar Lantern Bracelet: "Aahana" (2011)
End-users: off-grid Indian villagers. Manufactured and maintained in India.
End-users: off-grid Indian villagers. Manufactured and maintained in India.
[ Photo credits ] - Bagels and Lahks Blog - "Book of My Own." (Posted October 2, 2010.)
[ Enscription ] - "Aahana," the name of the product, means "the first rays of the sun" in Hindi; Aahana bracelets are a conceptual portable light for Indian off-grid villages.
[[ Above image information summarized ]]
[ Problems Addressed ]
Over 404,700,000 Indians are off-grid (without electricity) in a country experiencing five trillion kilowatt hours of solar power a year; 80,000 villages lack electricity and mostly rely on harmful, expensive kerosene for light.
[ Solution Rationale ]
(1) Women Outdoors
On a consistent daily basis in India, millions of women spend one to two hours gathering water, traverse six to eight kilometers seeking firewood, and walk for hours to cities or markets to sell and buy goods. (2) Permaculture
Bracelets are ubiquitously auspicious and naturally worn across India by girls and women of all ages. (3) Power Hotspot
Eighty-three percent of the year consists of sunny days, equating to five trillion kilowatt hours of solar energy a year (far exceeding India’s annual energy consumption) - and India’s photovoltaic industry ranks sixth worldwide; women of a vast age group may be powerhouses of light energy without any change in their daily schedule or wardrobe. (4) Manufacturing Cost
LED light saves 12-24 times as much energy as it takes to manufacture it. Due to the money saved from not buying kerosene, LED systems ‘pay back’ within two months.
[ Problems Addressed ]
Over 404,700,000 Indians are off-grid (without electricity) in a country experiencing five trillion kilowatt hours of solar power a year; 80,000 villages lack electricity and mostly rely on harmful, expensive kerosene for light.
[ Solution Rationale ]
(1) Women Outdoors
On a consistent daily basis in India, millions of women spend one to two hours gathering water, traverse six to eight kilometers seeking firewood, and walk for hours to cities or markets to sell and buy goods. (2) Permaculture
Bracelets are ubiquitously auspicious and naturally worn across India by girls and women of all ages. (3) Power Hotspot
Eighty-three percent of the year consists of sunny days, equating to five trillion kilowatt hours of solar energy a year (far exceeding India’s annual energy consumption) - and India’s photovoltaic industry ranks sixth worldwide; women of a vast age group may be powerhouses of light energy without any change in their daily schedule or wardrobe. (4) Manufacturing Cost
LED light saves 12-24 times as much energy as it takes to manufacture it. Due to the money saved from not buying kerosene, LED systems ‘pay back’ within two months.
[ Below ] - User evaluation form for judging design integrity and engender improvements.
( Please click the above links to see full reports and statistics. )
A paper copy of this survey was given out to all user testers at the beginning of the session prior to reading the proctor script. Please visit to the links above the user survey to see (1) script and (2) detailed quantitative final analyses.
Project By
About Project
To be marketed in India, the Aahana Bracelet is worn during the daytime to charge its solar cells, powering its LED to produce light after …
Read MorePublished: Jun 02, 2011
Tools Used
SolidWorks, Adobe Photoshop, High Impact Polystyrene, Leds, Coin Cell Batteries, Wiring, Solar Panels (photovoltaics)