Last month, a few students from the Pacific Collegiate School in Santa Cruz, California contacted us requesting we send them a Pocket Socket hand crank generator for their engineering project.
Their goal is to mount the Pocket Socket on a bicycle so that devices like tablets and smartphones can be charged while riding. We think this is an interesting idea and have considered it in our product development roadmap, so we sent the team some modified units for them to work with.
Here are some of the challenges the team will face as they work to complete their project:
- Mounting the Pocket Socket to the bicycle
- Connecting the dynamo/crank arm to either the bike’s wheel or gearing system
- Gearing to maintain proper dynamo speed (target 120 rpm)
- Relocating the outlet to a basket or other location where items can be stored and charged
Nathan, Mattea and Cecelia we wish you good luck! Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need support.
We’ll post an update when the team has made progress on their project. If you have suggestions of your own for this project or other projects, please contact us or tweet!
About Pacific Collegiate School
Pacific Collegiate School (PCS) is a grades 7-12 public charter school located in Santa Cruz, California. Their mission is to provide exemplary, standards-based college preparatory and fine arts education for public middle and high school students of Santa Cruz County and bordering areas. Their vision is to offer any student the same quality of education offered by the most academically distinguished schools in California. PCS is among the top 22 “elite public schools” in the country according to Newsweek. In 2007 they were ranked the #1 charter school in the country and #2 overall in the nation.