Renewables and Green Energy – BuffaloGrid
BuffaloGrid is a smart energy business which aims to power a smartphone revolution that will help drive wealth and wellbeing in the developing world.
BuffaloGrid had early prototypes of a design of media hub that provided charging facilities for a number of mobiles phones and was itself powered from a solar panel input.
The BuffaloGrid hub is intended for use in mobile operator shops in rural parts of the world such as India where electricity is unreliable and intermittent. This means customers can charge their phones for free when the electricity supply is down.
BuffaloGrid are also working with the High Commissioner for Refugees for an incoming trial in a refugee camp in Uganda and also have interest from Papua New Guinea, Haiti and Rwanda.
Following an earlier project to develop a first prototype, BuffaloGrid approached A2E to discuss a full redesign of the product from the ground up whilst maintaining the BuffaloGrid identity. A new project was agreed covering electronic, software and mechanical design with the ultimate goal of transferring the product into Pivot’s Manila factory for volume production.
There were some key functional requirements mandated for the product which had to be balanced with the desire to make the product as eco-friendly as possible.
- Solar panel input as main source of power
- Charging up to 10 mobile phones simultaneously
- Wireless communications in the form of LTE modem, WiFi and Bluetooth Low Energy
- High power efficiency coupled with heat management
- Sustainable packaging with non-toxic inks
Two phases of design and prototyping were undertaken leading to a full New Product Introduction process in tandem with the Pivot Manila factory.
The product is now in full manufacture and shipping to BuffaloGrid’s target countries.
