Everybody knows a LEGO MINDSTORMS kit is best used in making a giant monster to scare the shit out of the neighbors. But a bunch of students at New York City’s Little Red School House and Elizabeth Irwin High School did something just a notch better than that. They created a solar powered AC outlet and a 12 volt DC power port from it! Created in the courtyard of the Brooklyn Ecoeatery restaurant, the Off-Grid Outlet featured a clever tracking mechanism that ensures the grid always points towards the sun and soaks up the maximum amount of sunlight for maximum energy output. Led by Habana Works, a Brooklyn-based org that provides free programs to unite community members in improving human and natural habitats, the fab design also featured embedded displays so curious minds can watch the relationship between the panel and the energy captured. For the time being, the panel will be used for allowing customers at the Brooklyn Ecoeatery restaurant to charge their portable gizmos, but we definitely can see the potential for this thing carving out a niche for itself in our homes and offices very soon.
Source: Eco Localizer
