Instant and Sustainable Power wherever you are whenever you need it! Works with ANY USB device like your Android tablet, IPad or IPhone
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This project will only be funded if at least £50,000 is pledged by .
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Instant and Sustainable Power wherever you are whenever you need it! Works with ANY USB device like your Android tablet, IPad or IPhone
What is a prototype?
A prototype is a preliminary model of something. Projects that offer physical products need to show backers documentation of a working prototype. This gallery features photos, videos, and other visual documentation that will give backers a sense of what’s been accomplished so far and what’s left to do. Though the development process can vary for each project, these are the stages we typically see:
Proof of Concept
Explorations that test ideas and functionality.
Functional Prototype
Demonstrates the functionality of the final product, but looks different.
Appearance Prototype
Looks like the final product, but is not functional.
Design Prototype
Appearance and function match the final product, but is made with different manufacturing methods.
Production Prototype
Appearance, function, and manufacturing methods match the final product.
About this project
The Origin of 'The Cube'
Natures Battery is the brainchild of Chris Towle and Charles Ross – two friends from Canada and Britain who met in the Middle East over a decade ago and who both share a passion for innovative technology and environmental awareness. Over the last decade all manner of ideas to play their part in solving the worlds upcoming energy crisis have been discussed eventually leading to Nature's Battery. It was determined that whatever method was chosen, it must be:
- Sustainable
- Non-polluting
- Scalable
- Affordable
- Available
We want to demonstrate that we are no longer reliant on fossil fuels, nor does the alternative have to damage the environment. Our first product is a useful and practical device, simultaneously improving currently available technology and demonstrating a possible future that we believe will be to everyone's benefit.
Water Powered Battery!!!!
Nature's Batery is a portable water powered energy cell. It's INSTANTLY fully charged as soon as water is added.
With Nature's Battery you'll never be without power. Use it to charge or power up your USB devices - Android, iPhone, Tablets, Kindle, Electronic Cigarettes, computer games - any USB device, wherever you are, whenever you need.
A single fill of water will recharge an iPhone or regular mobile phone, and if more power is needed, just empty the cube and refill it for more instant power!
The power is generated using Nature's Battery cartridges (more detail in 'How it Works'), which can be refilled up to 60 times before you need to replace it. That's up to 60 mobile phone charges, or many many hours of powering LED lights!!
How it works!
Within the Cube is a cartridge that contains the active ingredients. The most important of these is Magnesium. Water acts as the electrolyte in the Cube's cartridge and power is generated in a completely harmless and non-polluting reaction that is used to power the USB circuit!
Once activated by adding water, the magnesium within the Cube reacts with dissolved oxygen in the water and produces an electric charge. This is captured and maintained at a consistent output level by a tiny transformer and regulator circuit in The Cube's lid.
The Cube allows you to power or charge any device compatible with a standard USB power source, and charges at around the same speed as you would expect from a normal wall charger.
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Accessories
Qi / Wireless Charger
To bring truly wireless charging to your USB devices we have also developed a Qi / Wireless Charger that works both with The Cube, and independently. The Qi panel fits neatly onto Nature's Battery Cube and connects to the USB port. A red LED shows that the panel is active, which turns blue when charging a device.
Supplied with the wireless panel is a base that enables connection to a standard wall charger. When you're not using 'out and about' you can leave it connected to power at home and just put your compatible device on to recharge when you get back.
LED Lantern
We have a design for an LED lantern that fits neatly over the Cube. Each side illuminates brightly with five powerful LEDs, and there is a hanging hook for additional convenience when used outdoors or camping. It is equally attractive sitting on a table, and a single filling of water will provide light for many hours. We will be able to afford to produce this and provide photos when our goal is reached.
T-Shirt
No Kickstarter campaign is complete without cotton! This snazzy T-Shirt will show everyone that you are at the cutting edge of Instant Portable Power, and in receipt of our sincere gratitude for your support!
Available in various sizes - please specify when ordering.
Design and Development
We have spent literally hundreds and hundreds of hours, frequently working until 5 or 6am, experimenting, re-modelling and testing, before finally determining the best way to get maximum cartridge life, and the most efficient production of energy. The Cube you see in these images are our prototype versions. With your help we will be able to afford to have the production model injection molded with slightly rounded corners. Very pretty!
Sustainability
Magnesium is the 8th most abundant element on our planet and the 11th most abundant in the human body. It can be extracted from seawater (our preferred method), or processed from several minerals such as magnesite and dolomite, to pure Magnesium.
The real beauty of Magnesium based power production is that it forms an almost perfect cycle of use and re-use without impacting the environment. When Magnesium is used to generate power, the result is Magnesium Oxide, which can be refined back into pure Magnesium to be used as a fuel source, which again becomes Oxide and so on. The energy required to carry out the refinement process can be provided quite efficiently by solar power, making this potentially one of the cleanest sources of energy available.
We believe firmly in being environmentally responsible, and to underpin that we have been building relationships with suppliers of recycled plastics so that we can ensure that the Nature's Battery Cube and accessories are made with a maximum of recycled materials without compromising standards.
Meet Our Team
Financials
Following our campaign we will be immediately tooling up and purchasing all the raw materials and components necessary for full production of The Cube. This includes plastics, wiring, electronic components, molds, consumables, and assembly. We will also meet the costs associated with administration and finalizing the agreements with our fulfillment partners based on the distribution requirements of our initial customer base, and ongoing sales.
The breakdown of how we will use the revenue from our campaign can be represented graphically as:
The project timeline to date and projected to fulfillment looks like this:
Risks and challenges
As with any innovative operation our biggest challenge is quality control, not only manufacturing but in fulfillment. We have gone to great lengths to ensure that we are confident that the finished product will be first class, and as we are planning to distribute to an international client base such as one found on Kickstarter, that it will be efficiently shipped by distribution partners with a reputation for excellent customer service.
We have spent weeks working to ensure our supply chain is rock solid, and have received hundreds of quotes from raw materials and equipment providers to ensure that our costs are controlled and our equipment (such as injection molds) are up to the task of producing the best possible product. Our partners are not distant strangers but businesses with whom we have previously engaged, and have confidence in their abilities and long experience.
Ensuring that you, our backers, feel confident not only in our product but in us as individuals, is without question our highest priority. We will be closely monitoring every aspect of project delivery as it occurs, and communications will be made regularly. We genuinely want everyone who supports us to be part of the whole process. Additionally, every pledge or reward will be insured to give that little bit of extra assurance that if, in spite of our best efforts, the unforeseen should happen, that we will still deliver as promised.
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