HWTrek sponsored 30 hardware creators and accelerators to visit Taiwan, Beijing, and Shenzhen on Asia Innovation Tour 2015 in August—and also in April 2014. We’re doing it again this spring. Register on the HWTrek platform and create a project to apply to join the next Asia Innovation Tour 2016 cohort destined to meet manufacturing industry experts, see assembly lines, and gain insights about China’s market in April 2016.
We reached out to Burt Hamner (Co-founder and President of Hydrobee SPC) to learn more about the development of HydroBee. Burt participated in Asia Innovation Tour this past August. Here’s what he had to say about it:
This was a very rare opportunity for a startup company like mine to go inside some of the world’s top electronics manufacturers and learn how they can help new product developers. We were all very impressed by the participation of the top managers of those companies. Finally, the mix of startup companies in the tour was great. I learned quite a lot talking with the other entrepreneurs. The time spent with the other startups is a very valuable component of the tour.
HWTrek: Please introduce yourself and your project?
I was a clean technologies consultant for many years, working in developing countries to help them reduce industrial pollution. The reality of poverty and the vast numbers of people in poverty affected me. A few years ago I managed a study about ocean energy generation, and was inspired to transfer the technology for tidal power to the irrigation canals in my home state of Washington. They are man-made rivers flowing by gravity downhill, with a lot of energy in them. I invented a new turbine design and founded a company to make and sell turbines. I raised $3 million from 40 people, built the company and it was taken over by some of its investors who made a mess of it. So I was thinking about micro hydropower and came across a tiny turbine for a water meter, and realized it could charge a phone. When I learned that a billion poor people live with cell phone networks but no electricity I realized this is a huge opportunity to make micro power for many people. So I founded Hydrobee to create micro power solutions.
HWTrek: What’s the inspiration for your project? What problem does it solve or address?
The inspiration comes from four crazy developments in technology: Cell phones and networks everywhere including where there is no grid electricity; USB power becoming a global standard for phones; LED lights that run on USB power becoming so cheap they can replace candles and kerosene lamps – if you have power; and micro-financing that enables poor people to buy electronics on Pay-As-You-Go basis. All of these things are less than 15 years old but they are changing the world incredibly. So our Hydrobee invention and project works at the intersection of these innovations. Our turbine harvests power from nature and stores it in a battery with USB power output for phone charging and LED lights. It is equipped with a cell phone network chip so it can sold using micro finance over someone’s phone and phone payment account. It enables a village to have a very simple and affordable battery power source so they have communications and lights. We can power a village with 60 families for about $1000, which is much less than any other power solution.
HWTrek: What solutions did you use for hardware design?
We designed the Hydrobee in Autodesk Inventor software and made scale models on a 3D printer. We used parts from various products to prove we can make enough power for charging from small streams and water flows.
HWTrek: What solutions did you use for prototyping?
We hired a product development company called DA International Group to find a supplier in China to make the prototypes. We are in version 2 of working prototype now. DAI makes it very affordable to work with supplier in China.
HWTrek: What are the takeaways and lessons learned from working on this project that you’d like to share with other hardware startups?
It will take twice as long as you think, but can cost half as much if you find the right partner. Learn about prototyping in Asia before you decide how to make your product. Go visit potential suppliers in person, it makes a huge difference to your understanding. Be very careful about crowdfunding for a product you will give to backers, because if you are late in delivery (which happens a lot) you can have angry crazy people harass you. Be sure you can deliver in reasonable time and communicate with your backers a lot.
HWTrek: What trend do you see that is changing your sector/industry or what shift would you like to see happen?
Renewable micro-power for two billion people will unleash a massive development of new electronics that work on USB power, and millions of tons of new material flows in manufacturing, distribution and disposal. This will create many new companies. We want to see investors and distributors understand this shift and for them to work with companies like us that are at the heart of the new product development serving this vast new market.
HWTrek: What’s next for your project?
We are getting the next working prototype this month and soon will pay for first tooling and production run. We will finalize tooling and packaging to deliver to our crowdfunding backers with first production run. As demand increases we will consider alternative production especially if it has linked distribution.
HWTrek: What are your ‘go-to’ sources for tech information and news? (Do you have any recommendations for a must-read/watch/listen article, book, blog, film, or podcast, etc.?)
I scan Gizmodo and Gadgetflow blogs for related charging products. A great book for making products for the “Bottom of the Pyramid” and a billion new shoppers is “The Business Solution to Poverty” which has a great chapter on product design for emerging markets. I watch contests and venture accelerators like the Cleantech Open and PCH to see what great ideas from startups are getting traction. HWTrek and Hackster.io are good for seeing what new tech is being used to make products.
