Rawlemon's New Spherical Beta.ey Solar Generator Can Charge Your Cell Phone

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Rawlemon Solar Devices

For the past year or so, Rawlemon has been blowing our minds with their innovative concepts for concentrated solar power generation. Back in 2012 Inhabitat first reported on the Barcelona-based startup’s spherical solar energy-concentrating globe. Like a giant crystal ball, the prototype was capable of concentrating sunlight up to 10,000 times–making it significantly more efficient than traditional photovoltaic designs. Then, just a few months ago, they did it again: this time releasing a new and improved prototype–called the Betaray that can harness solar energy from the sun, the moon, or even the gray sky of a cloudy day. Encouraged by the positive reaction to the design, Rawlemon has launched a crowdfunding campaign that will allow the start up to move from research to development. Those who contribute have a chance to get their hands on the company’s newest (and arguably most awesome) product: a 1/500th scale version of the Betaray, called the Beta.ey, that can be used to charge your phone!

The Beta.ey is a condensed version of Rawlemon’s principal technology–a glass sphere that focuses sunlight (or even moonlight) onto a solar cell. The difference is that unlike the Betaray, which sits on a rooftop, the Beta.ey is small enough to fit in your pocket. Well, pretty close anyway.

“We’ve been working on truly efficient concentrated solar energy for over 3 years now. The Beta.ey that you see here reflected, is the smallest product we have designed,” explained the designers in a statement.

Like its big brother, the Beta.ey concentrates light onto a multijunction cell. However, the smaller cell measures just 1 cm x 1 cm. “This cell is mounted on our patent pending micro dual axis tracking system. This feature allows the cell to follow the sun’s path for the 27,5 Whr battery to charge, making us unique in the mobile device accessory market,” say the designers.

On a sunny day, the Beta.ey can charge your cell phone 1.5 times a day (depending your location), and comes with a battery storage capacity of 27.5 Whr. It’s also compatible with any USB 2.0 supported cellphone. At night, the Beta.ey comes alive, doubling as an atmospheric lamp with a colored RGB LED light. Want to get your hands on this adorable little solar charger? All it takes is a $99 contribution to Rawlemon’s crowdfnding campaign.

http://inhabitat.com/beta-ey-rawlemons-new-mini-spherical-betaray-solar-power-generator-charges-cell-phones/