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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

#121

Post by fullspectrumdev »

tgsovlerkhgsel wrote: post #119
fullspectrumdev wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shelters in the UK have a pretty bad rap in some cities (including London) among the homeless. Also yes, it’s an art project by an art student at CSM (an art college).

I understand why people don't want to stay there, but shelters could also provide "walk-in" services like swapping an empty power bank for a full one.

They could and/or should, but many shelters basically are night shelter only - you get kicked out in the morning.

There’s nowhere near enough drop in daytime places to charge a phone or access internet or get help with paperwork, etc.

there also a shortage of places that will let you open a mailbox/use the address to get postage.

You would be amazed at how much difference it makes being able to receive a letter at an address - it’s vital for a lot of services still.

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

#122

Post by KennyBlanken »

Kye wrote: post #87
spaintech wrote: post #26

While I applaud the intent to bring the issue of homelessness to the forefront of the media, I feel like this project is more about gaining self attention for the project rather than solving the issue all together. The ~20GBP for the 18650 or 27500 batteries, the probably ~5GBP of the PCB needed, ~15GBP for the chain hardware and magnets, you are looking for a >40GBP to put this together, you can today get a <10GBP U…

This is the same mistake the OLPC people made. When you're broke and struggling to feed yourself, you aren't going to waste precious calories cranking to charge a battery. You're going to bum enough off someone to have a calorie-rich drink while you charge in a coffee shop or find a public outlet you can sneak some juice off of.

I met a number of people involved in OLPC and every single one of them was an insufferably smug tool with a massive white-savior complex. Kids in Africa didn't need a hand-crankable laptop. They needed clean water to survive infancy, light to be able to study by, and to not be captured and turned into soldiers.

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

#123

Post by imtringued »

spaintech wrote: post #26

While I applaud the intent to bring the issue of homelessness to the forefront of the media, I feel like this project is more about gaining self attention for the project rather than solving the issue all together. The ~20GBP for the 18650 or 27500 batteries, the probably ~5GBP of the PCB needed, ~15GBP for the chain hardware and magnets, you are looking for a >40GBP to put this together, you can today get a <10GBP U…

Don't tell me you have never used a hand crank. The bicycle dynamo thing is stupid, but at least the expectation is that you charge while you are on the go without thinking too much about it. It makes your bicycle slower, but that is about it. Meanwhile your idea requires hours upon hours of doing nothing but handcranking.

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

#124

Post by imtringued »

kmeisthax wrote: post #99
keep_reading wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have an emergency radio / USB-C battery combo thing with like 5000mah and the math on the hand crank says I'd have to crank it continuously for like 48 hours to charge it. It's completely useless. I'd die from exertion just trying to charge it if I was stranded.

You don't need to crank the whole 5000mAh, you just need to crank enough for your phone to get a phone call or two out, and that's assuming the battery wasn't already charged prior.

If a phone call or two was enough to end homelessness then it would have ended a long time ago.

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

#125

Post by imtringued »

Waterluvian wrote: post #28

Homeless people are known for having so much free time and energy that an hour of pedalling is a better solution than the two cents of wall power needed to charge things while they sit and correspond with potential employers, deal with paperwork, pay bills, figure out their kid’s school plans, and working out how to keep their healthcare without a full address. I dunno… this “idea” feels so ignorant that it’s basical…

I completely agree. The cost of the device probably pays for years of electricity.

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

#126

Post by HWR_14 »

gnsdrths wrote: post #34
Waterluvian wrote: post #28

Homeless people are known for having so much free time and energy that an hour of pedalling is a better solution than the two cents of wall power needed to charge things while they sit and correspond with potential employers, deal with paperwork, pay bills, figure out their kid’s school plans, and working out how to keep their healthcare without a full address. I dunno… this “idea” feels so ignorant that it’s basical…

I'm American so as ignorant as I'm sure this sounds... Are the people who become homeless in London doing so for significantly different reasons than over here? Because most of the homeless in my city (a fairly large California coastal) aren't significantly engaged in any of the things you're alluding to and frankly would probably be happier with a bike that charged their phones since the ones who aren't just living…

I'd imagine panhandling gets money that the desperately need. It's not an idle activity that can be replaced by "generate electricity" at no cost to them.

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

#127

Post by HWR_14 »

op00to wrote: post #63

Or you can do what NYC did and (sell the right to) put USB charging ports on every other block or so. In that case, you just have to source USB condoms instead of a whole rigamarole involving pedaling and stuff.

Except I don't think USB condoms work on USB-C ports. Or if they do, they downgrade the charging speed to almost nothing, locking it to 5V, 0.5amp.

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

#128

Post by DANmode »

enragedcacti wrote: post #116
exabrial wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm all but certain you're certain you're incorrect. I would invite you to do a ride along with your local police, local EMS / Fire Rescue if allowed, to develop a more informed opinion, as they spend a significant amount of time interacting with the homeless population.

Have you considered that people who are called specifically to emergency situations might not have the most representative sampling?

Possibly a better view than the rose-colored glasses perspective many have from viewing the "comfortable" homeless.

No one's perception of the homeless in these discussions seem to take into account the person that died last week, I guess is what I'm getting at.

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

#129

Post by blacksmith_tb »

mulmen wrote: post #110
blacksmith_tb wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The statistics I've seen (on California[1]) suggest that homeless folks are generally locals, not migrants? But I agree that just providing some usb ports on public transit (likely also in stations or at stops) would be a low-cost/high-benefit approach. For human-powered approaches, I will say that old OLPC hand crank was a good design, since it clamped to a table or railing, which allowed for clever 'hacks' like hoi…

I would love to see a USB port that can withstand public transit use. Just as a design exercise that would be fascinating.

Not an EE, but my gut says "modular, replaceable" would be essential. As they wear out, have drinks spilled in them, etc. someone with only hand tools should be able to pop them out and slot in new working ones (probably with minimal security bolts, just to keep bored riders with pocket screwdrivers taking them apart).

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

#130

Post by mainpassathome »

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #74
dazc wrote: post #65

Most homeless people in the UK will be aware that they can charge phones in any public library. Also, most will have access to some kind of facility where they can also do stuff such as charge phones, have a shower and do laundry. If you present to the local authority as homeless you will usually be directed to a local charity that has these facilities. You will, likely, stay homeless but there is some basic help out…

> Most homeless people in the UK will be aware that they can charge phones in any public library. ..have access to some kind of facility to charge phones, have a shower and do laundry. You describe a different universe from US homelessness. Here there might be a tiny bit of religious outreach but the public (therefor public services) tends to lean toward hostility.

even then, at least in canada the average library will have phone chargers available to borrow, i cant imagine it being that different south of the border
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