Single board computers like Raspberry Pi, Arduino and Beagle Board are bring out an interesting feature of portability to DIY kits. However, power concerns are still quite a problem for these gadgets. Hence, most projects we see are rather computer-USB powered or use a standard charger with a conventional power supply (battery or household supply). The problem arises when the computer applications go out of the laboratory, i.e. to a field or a farm. For longer application purposes, attaching a heavy battery would increase the weight and budgets.
Raspberry Pi developers seemed to have eradicated this problem by accessorizing it through a solar charging system. This system takes care of two tasks: powering the computer and, charging the back- up batteries when the sun goes down.
The design of the solar charging system is quite simple and would require no extra genius to customize the computer.
For those who just need to make the device work and do not want any back up battery back-up wouldn’t get much affected from the weight concerns as unframed solar panels do not give a considerable weight to the system.
Filed Under: Reviews