Solar Stuff at Maker Faire

Maker Faire is all about making your own stuf. Say, a giant swing, or a robotic chariot pulled by an animatronic solar powered Obama? Maybe a 10 foot tall Van de Graaff Machine strong enough to kill your neighbor's annoying dog... It's all here and most of it's dangerous, but the hordes of youngsters running around don't seem to mind! The first thing my friend Dave and I did this year at Maker Faire was make our car fit into the tightest spot we could find. Heck no $25 parking, heck no large open empty space across the street! We're doing this the Maker Way.

But who really cares about the parking details right? unless of course the spot is covered by a solar charger or something... On to Maker Faire! This festival of quirky inventions, rides, music and fire has been going for several years now and each year it just gets bigger and better, we're talking 50K+ visitors. Makers are usually part artist and part engineer but all of them love sustainability and thus, solar. The sign below says REMAKE AMERICA, Building a Sustainable Future and it marks the entrance to this years Maker Festival in Northern California.

Here are several of this year's solar related "makes" that we spotted in and around the event. If we missed something don't hesitate to contact us and send a photo and description. Many of the descriptions and details shown below were taken directly from the project overview sheets at the event but if you have something to add, again, just ping us!

Doesn't he look happy? Yes, an overjoyed rollerskating Obama was leading the march. Or at least, a future half Terminator half Obama clone? This chariot would drive forward and greet visitors and then sit and rest as the roof mounted solar panel charged its aging battery pack. Last year the chariot was pulled by the Governator. As many solar connoisseurs know, solar powered trickle charge is one of the best ways to extend a battery's life.

Continuing along with the vehicle and mobility theme, we saw a custom made truck camper shell that folds down to reduce wind resistance. Great idea! The fiberglass shells stack together just like those cute little Russian made nesting dolls and each top has a solar panel that runs a tiny refrigerator inside. The truck is called the Quickup Camper and was produced by Jay Baldwin. It's a hand-made pickup truck based RV that is roomy, stable, handles well and gets 20 mpg at 70 mph. That's about double the fuel mileage that conventional RV designs get.

I asked Jay how much it cost and he explained that he wasn't really doing on-off sales, more looking for a producer partner. I probed a little more and he explained that a new Ford F150 single cab runs ~$15K right now (if you make a cash offer) and the camper cost ~$10K so the entire unit could run well under $30K. I was especially fond of how roomy and bright the interior was. It also seemed fairly rugged, combining the aerodynamic nature of a popup camper with the strength and durability of a conventional topper, minus the vulnerability of canvas fold-in siding.

One thing almost every maker seems to love is a good bike, and by that I mean a home built monster! Sometimes these contraptions are made of wood, sometimes metal, but they always seem to have a superpower. It's like a right of passage if you want to become a maker, you start by modding your own bike. We saw a three wheeler for grownups that could skid around corners at high speed, a stilt bike that lifted its riders to perilous heights and a motorcycle sized bigfoot with car tires and disk brakes. Our favorite of course was the Dual Motor eBike with its  tow in solar attachment shown below.

The dual motor electric bike features a solar powered battery charger constructed on a bike trailer that looks a lot like a utility dolly. The trailer reminds us of another favorite maker style project, the Bidwell Pusher. The neat thing about the Pusher is that it can be used separately from any normal bike; it's the equivalent of a super hero's cape, easy on easy off. Maybe a combination solar powered pusher is in order? Back to the dual motor bike at Maker Faire, this design is meant as a proof of concept that demonstrates various technologies including electronics, electric motors, and solar charging. The goal is to educate and inspire others to experiment and join the electric vehicle movement.

If you don't like riding by yourself then you'll love this next contraption, it's a solar touring bike for two! Thankfully the design is a tad less intimate than a normal tandem bicycle, and the cool yellow seats, caution tape and orange warning light keep cars at bay. Along with providing energy for movement, the solar panels on the front recumbent part of the bike keep riders shady and cool during hot sunny days. The bike design, with it's battery towing concept, is reminiscent of another one of our favorite gadgets, the Solar Taxi. The recumbent bike is designed to accommodate two riders up to 200 miles per day entirely powered by the sun. Clever use of a geared hill-climbing motor and a salient cruise hub motor has allowed it to tackle mountain and other difficult terrain.

Jumping back into the world of cars, we found a couple mini sized neighborhood vehicles that had attached solar for charging. The one directly below was designed by high school students at the Latino College Preparatory Academy in East San Jose. It uses concentrated solar collectors with flat mirrors that track the sun to boost the energy output of the photovoltaic cells. I must have been looking a bit worn out and dirty after walking around all day because the guy in the car seems to be offering me money from his wallet?

Last but not least is a sun powered radio. Now I know what you're thinking, "I only listen to the radio at night outside the house of my unrequited love!" well, a solar powered radio probably won't work, even with a full moon, but for everyone else out there this next maker gadget should do just fine.

The solar radio exhibit was designed to show the direct connection between the sun, solar energy, and electrical devices. Again, inspiring youngsters to get involved and start making! The four rows of mirrors are aligned to focus on a given spot and if you turn them, the radio starts to fade and eventually shut down. Similarly, if you cover the solar panels with your hand, the radio starts to lose quality and fade out. The dude eating popcorn is simply mesmerized... ps. everyone eats kettle corn at Maker Faire.

pps. the movie reference above is from Say Anything, a scene featuring John Cusack holding a boombox over his head playing Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes". He is trying to win the heart of the character played by Ione Skye. Had he been using a solar radio, he definitely would have impressed her... Hawthorne Heights (an emo rock band) made a song called Niki FM with the singer holding the radio over his head as a parody, the screenshot above is from Niki FM.