Echo
Giving Lithium Ion Batteries a second life
Project Overview
Creating a product which functions off of pre-used lithium-ion batteries, giving special consideration to size, power capacity, and lifespan.
Problem
Lithium-Ion batteries, while lightweight and rechargeable, inevitably degrade in power storage over time. They can be difficult to dispose of properly, and many are discarded when they still have life left in them. How might we design a device powered by a used lithium ion battery to give the battery a second life?
Research
For this assignment, I used an old HTC One A9 phone as a model battery to calculate energy use.
Considering the battery dimensions and power requirements, The hardware from the existing Motorola T100 2 Way Radio functioned as a working example for this design.
While the battery originally provided 9.8 V, given it’s usage history it would still be able to provide at least 6 miles of communication distance in flat terrain.
Ideation
Fabrication
Use of CAD modeling to establish housing dimensions in conjunction with electrical components.
