How to dismantle an Eee Pc

One of the first things we did during the tests was checking weather it was possible to remove the Eee Pc from it's original casing.

This could be really useful if we want to create a new casing for the laptops.

We also dismantled the laptops battery, so we could place it next to the solar module.

After a long silence

Hi,

First of all I have to excuse me for the long silence on this blog.

Since February, the project was really fired up. The testing started mid March and is almost finished by now. In the next posts I'll explain everything we did so far, what's up at this moment and what will come the next week before it's the big finale (the project is due mid May).

Concept explained

The final computer will look a lot like a tablet pc.

When the computer is closed (FIG.1), the solar cells will be connected to the bottom of the computer (FIG.2).

There are 2 types of usage: - Compact
- Comfort

Compact (FIG.3): Tablet-mode --> Touchscreen, touch-keyboard, Solar cells on the bottom (battery usage) of loose from the computer to put in the sun

Comfort (Fig.4): Desktop-mode --> Touchscreen, bluetooth keyboard, solar cells loose in the sun or on the holder behind the screen (FIG.5)

In the table (FIG.6) you can see how the solar cells can be connected in the different modes.




FIG.1





FIG.2





FIG.3





FIG.4





FIG.5





FIG.6

first big presentation

So yesterday I did the first big presentation concerning the final concept.

Though there's still a lot to do, I'm rather proud to show you this short animation and the presentation itself (this presentation is in dutch).

animation:


presentation:

Presentatie 28 januari

View more presentations from Howest.

teaser

I've been working on a concept. I won't post it yet because I haven't communicated it to the rest of the team yet, but here's a teaser already :)

prototypes

I know i promised pictures, but I'm working on some real cool prototypes to present the 28th. I'll have the pictures uploaded by then!

(p.s.: I'll also put a link with the first version of my thesis and the presentation itself, mind you this'll be in dutch)

Chromium os

After a long silence (I've been studying mostly)I'm back with a small report on what's going on.

First of all I've been measuring the solar cells Joachim gave me. in full sun they are able to produce 0.6V (8A)!

Another thing I've been thinking about is the energy usage of the whole system. If we are looking at the entire system with remote desktop control, it's only fair to look at the energy the servers use as well. If I would go for remote desktop control, I might be making this whole thing to big and complicated.
That's why I went back to chromium for a minute.

I've downloaded the code, build the OS from Linux and tried it. I'm still working on some stuff, but I was thinking we might be able to create a computer with an entirely new OS, but also without all the hardware equipment.

Chromium OS is a rather static OS. It's purpose is not to store stuff on your computer and customize it to your needs. Basically it's just a really fast browser.
Keeping this in mind, we might think of using microcontrollers instead of processors and graphic cards,...
This will radically change the energy usage, and make it even smaller.


As far as the design is concerned, I came up with some nice idea's, but I'll be keeping those pictures with me till 2010 (consider it a gift :) )

merry Christmas and a happy new year,
jan