Power up your phone simply by sending a text message. This might sound a little unusual to you. But, Buffalo Grid, a London based company has made it possible. Buffalo Grid has developed a new service to provide mobile electricity on demand. This service will be greatly helpful to millions of mobile users in rural areas who does not have a direct access to power.
Buffalo Grid has introduced a solar-power cell-phone charging station that is activated by text message. This technology was recently tested successfully in Uganda. In Uganda they used a bicycle to move around and charge cell phones battery around villages.
How it Works
The company has a 60 watt solar panel that recharges a battery that is brought into areas where cellphones need charging. The battery uses Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technique to extract power from solar-panel. When a customer sends a message to the device, the device receives the message and an LED above a socket on the battery lights up which indicates that it is ready to charge a phone. Each text message allows the phone to be charged for one and half hours. A fully charged Buffalo grid unit can last for three days and has up to 10 charging points that can charge 30 to 50 phones a day.
Buffalo Grid is approaching cellphone network operators to bring the cost down further or even making it free. This technology or we can say this service is here to stay. People around the world, cannot live without cell phone and cell phones cannot live without battery.
