This SwapSolar entry makes me wish to revive a defunct startup I co-founded back in 2018. The idea was to rethink 21 paramedical professions in order to provide quality care at home.
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Take the following foldable, all-in-one dentist chair for instance:
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It has everything you need for basic dental care, weight 30kgs, and offers: turbine, lamp, high pressure water jet, sink, mouthwash, etc.
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It has now been available on Aliexpress following the downfall of the startup back in 2019/2020.
When folded, it is mounted on a trolley, and is easily carried around. Our startup had among its founding members the owner of a company making quality dental hardware, which explained how fast we managed to put this together. The whole plastic injection chain was readily available to us too.
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The original idea stemmed from the difficulty for elderly people to go to the dentist, or to get basic care that would improve their wellbeing while isolated in retirement homes and losing their own mobility / autonomy.
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In the wake of that all-in-one dental care deployable trolley, the startup was then officially founded. First prototypes were made and the design quickly evolved (the first chair was an inflatable one… quite amusing for kids).
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We then came up with a trolley and stackable boxes that would offer better modularity. Some boxes would be used in the stacks of multiple professions (sterilization box is a good relatable example).
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When packed, it enjoys the portability of simple trolley:
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Unpacked, it reveals a panel of boxes ranging from simple storage boxes to advanced ones containing specialized hardware (sterilization, ultrasound device for physio, spray tan compressor, tattoo machine, laser treatment, etc.)
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The concept was easily extendable, but was limited to 21 professions in the beginning, resulting in 21 specialized stacks:
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All of them required power. While homes usually have power, what about the use of those on the go?
While the company had our dear elderly in mind to begin with, we quickly thought of exporting this to developing countries where care is less than accessible. On top of that, all sorts of events could also benefit from these: Think of scout camps, outdoor activities, festivals, nomad lifestyles, etc.
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All devices were DC operated, and none were really hungry in terms of energy draw. For example, a dental turbine draws at most 30W, the lamp is a LED one (30-40W), and the water pump (lo and high pressure) doesn’t need more than 80W. This makes the 716Wh perfectly suitable for this, after all AC180T can already output 1200W on a single 716Wh, which tells a lot about the tremendous discharge rate of this sub-10kg battery pack.
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SwapSolar seems like a perfect candidate to power these devices on the go, further extending the capabilities of the range. I’m being a bit nostalgic, as about 2 years of (part-time) work went down the drain with that project. We never made a dime, it was quite a ride, and I never regretted a single time being part of the adventure.
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Now, this SwapSolar makes me wonder: what if we had thought of portable batteries, and solar input? As pointed in another #BLUETTISwapSolar entry, places like Africa have very limited access to some essential supplies. But they have plenty of sun. So much sun. Free energy to harness to make the world a better place.