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MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

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Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#11

Post by arp242 »

helpfulContrib wrote: post #7
serpix wrote: post #3

A wall socket can be found just about anywhere, if you really need power quick there are fast charging powerbanks.

Homelessness is a serious subject, especially in a city like London. The assumption that the homeless masses all have access to a powerbank, or a wall socket in one of the cities most notorious for class boundaries, is rather coarse.. perhaps you might at least think of it as more of a survival device for those who are using their bicycles to get far, far away from the grid ..

[flagged]

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#13

Post by londons_explore »

Nice prototype, but it doesn't actually work does it?

Turns out that to transfer any significant torque (and therefore energy), you need either a larger gear, or a larger subtended angle, or a higher chain tension - and ideally all three.

Since this device has none of those, I can be pretty confident that even after hours of pedalling, you won't have a charged phone. In fact, the video even shows the chain jumping showing that the generator gear isn't turning.

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#15

Post by dmw_ng »

helpfulContrib wrote: post #7
serpix wrote: post #3

A wall socket can be found just about anywhere, if you really need power quick there are fast charging powerbanks.

Homelessness is a serious subject, especially in a city like London. The assumption that the homeless masses all have access to a powerbank, or a wall socket in one of the cities most notorious for class boundaries, is rather coarse.. perhaps you might at least think of it as more of a survival device for those who are using their bicycles to get far, far away from the grid ..

Plenty of locations that used to be BT phone boxes were replaced with pillars featuring WiFi and USB charging. Is this not pretty widespread?

This device seems a bit.. daft. Renting a Santander cycle costs 1.65 GBP. Add the high energy food required to supplement your diet after a 30 minute ride and this is looking closer to 3 or 4 quid for a phone charge, and that's before considering where the homeless person is going to securely stow their belongings while cycling. Luggage storage in Victoria is 5 GBP for 3 hours..

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#16

Post by jebarker »

sp332 wrote: post #12
tiahura wrote: post #5

Shouldn’t the strategy be to disincentivize bums congregating in your neighborhood?

Average rent in London is over $2,000 per month. You don’t have to be a bum to be homeless.

and median income in London appears to be ~41K GBP, so that rent would be about 80% of the income. No wonder there's lots of homelessness.

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#17

Post by helsinkiandrew »

EdSchouten wrote: post #2

What’s the advantage of using those bicycles, as opposed to just having a crank on it? Pedaling a bicycle backwards isn’t really ergonomic.

This is an art/design project by an undergraduate student - not necessarily a serious product. But I wonder if cycling backwards is still easier than using a hand crank

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#18

Post by jebarker »

dmw_ng wrote: post #15
helpfulContrib wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Homelessness is a serious subject, especially in a city like London. The assumption that the homeless masses all have access to a powerbank, or a wall socket in one of the cities most notorious for class boundaries, is rather coarse.. perhaps you might at least think of it as more of a survival device for those who are using their bicycles to get far, far away from the grid ..

Plenty of locations that used to be BT phone boxes were replaced with pillars featuring WiFi and USB charging. Is this not pretty widespread? This device seems a bit.. daft. Renting a Santander cycle costs 1.65 GBP. Add the high energy food required to supplement your diet after a 30 minute ride and this is looking closer to 3 or 4 quid for a phone charge, and that's before considering where the homeless person is go…

You don't have to pay to rent the bike. The homeless person attaches the devices and then peddles on it stationary in the dock.

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#19

Post by mytailorisrich »

helsinkiandrew wrote: post #17
EdSchouten wrote: post #2

What’s the advantage of using those bicycles, as opposed to just having a crank on it? Pedaling a bicycle backwards isn’t really ergonomic.

This is an art/design project by an undergraduate student - not necessarily a serious product. But I wonder if cycling backwards is still easier than using a hand crank

Using a hand crank for 30 minutes? Nah... pedaling will definitely be easier.

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#20

Post by circuit10 »

tiahura wrote: post #5

Shouldn’t the strategy be to disincentivize bums congregating in your neighborhood?

These are people with a life and feelings and needs just as much as you. If you were in a rough situation and needed some help, how would it feel to have people dehumanise you with comments like this as if you’re some sort of pest and just want you to go away somewhere else instead of helping?
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