Group Members

Proposal

Introduction

Statment of Purpose

The aim of this project is to build and construct a flashlight that will operate using the current produced by shaking it. We will accomplish this by having a strong magnet (rare earth metal magnet) in a tube, and wire coiled around the tube. Shaking the flashlight, and therefore the tube will move the magnet in and out of the coils. This movement will produce an electrical current which will be used to charge up the capacitor. We will have a voltmeter measuring the voltage across the capacitor and will display the percentage it is charged and its expected run time.

Block Diagram

Challenges

• How to power the Arduino. Will the Arduino draw too much power from the capacitor for the LED bulb to light up? 
• Find a suitable capacitor and magnet to our little device, mismatch of them could destroy the board.
• How can we recharge our battery in a reasonable amount of time(shakes), nobody wants a flashlight that only last for a couple of seconds.