Brain Cortex Solar Panel Install Part 41

BRAIN CORTEX SOLAR PANEL INSTALL PART 41

The Cortex solar panel was installed inside the brain jar above the power unit's top level. The bottom of the panel is fit to the top ledge of the battery holder, which holds the bottom of the solar panel in place without any hardware. The top of the solar panel has two angle brackets holding it, connected together as shown. The back side of the solar panel has a sticky substance which nicely grips the angle bracket's long extension side. It can also serve as a wire holder as shown.

This is the larger solar panel rated at 3 volts and 120 mA designed to power the brain and trickle charge the batteries during the day. Tests show the panel works in available room lighting.

Index to the Brain Cortex
http://humanoidolabs.blogspot.tw/2013/11/brain-cortex-index-part-16.html

Brain Cortex Power Unit Part 40

Looking into the Brain Cortex Power Unit - eight times the energy in the new design can power not only the Cortex but could maintain a new instrument control panel and measuring devices. The Power Unit allows the brain to continue to stay alive, even when the solar panel trickle charger cuts out at night time.

BRAIN CORTEX POWER UNIT PART 40

One of four brain power distribution packs

MASSIVE POWER RIPS THROUGH THE CORTEX JAR

The powerful Brain Cortex Power Unit is now installed. This is modified to include four power distribution energy packs, each pack made up of two 1.5 volt D size cells in series to provide three volts. The four packs connect together in parallel to increase amperage by four

Single Philips 1.5 volt D battery ZnC

times and maintain a delivery of three volts to the electrics. The power unit takes up half the space of the larger 3 liter Taiwan pet jar.

Power holders are stacked with the opposite polarity ends mounted closest together for wiring. With four sets of twin stacking, enough space is available (after mounting the solar panel) to add another one pack. With a custom mount behind the solar panel, perhaps two packs could be added.

Keeping the packs limited to four gives maximum space for the electric brain cortex board and could allow a two or more board stacked design in the future.

Index to the Brain Cortex
http://humanoidolabs.blogspot.tw/2013/11/brain-cortex-index-part-16.html

Brain Cortex Solar Cells Part 21

BRAIN CORTEX SOLAR CELL POWER & CHARGING PART 21
Put together solar cells to match a battery pack for charging. The number of cells can determine voltage and supplied amperage. The acquisition of an additional panel for the cortex project enables more brains. Two panels, both 3-volt, have capacities of 60 and 120 mA. Series and parallel combinations are possible to drive a load at 3 or 6 volts and to charge batteries to balance battery pack mAh values. In particular, the 60 mA panel is useful for trickle charging. Although the estimated draw of the Cortex is around 30 mA, the actual value could run much higher depending on cog usage. More tests are in the works.

US$10.31 3v @ 120 mA   $.09 per mA
US$06.04 3v @ 060 mA   $.10 per mA

When using a solar panel for charging batteries, use a blocking Schottky 58117 diode to prevent the solar panel from drawing power from the batteries when there is no light.

Two panels will drive a low power 3 volt Propeller circuit and a 6 volt sensor circuit.

The small single solar panel will drive a smaller brain cortex with one Propeller chip.

Index to the Brain Cortex
http://humanoidolabs.blogspot.tw/2013/11/brain-cortex-index-part-16.html

Brain Cortex Machine Part 4 - Batteries

BRAIN CORTEX MACHINE
BATTERIES - PART 4
BOOT YOUR BATTERY OR GIVE IT THE BOOT?

A market survey of batteries in common stores will reveal the banning of lead acid batteries and the proliferation of alkaline batteries. Reading up on the care and feeding (recharging) of a variety of finicky batteries is complicated and sometimes confusing.

THE FINICKY BATTERY
How many times did a trusty rechargeable battery go dead in your lifetime? A battery is not a simple thing to maintain. It needs levels of charge, specific voltages, specific currents, and specific charging times. It requires a charging cycle involved with timing variants that cannot be too much or too little, too frequent or too infrequent. Plus, to add to the confusion, no two batteries are exactly alike.

UNENDING MISERY HAS COMPANY
It doesn't end there. Nickel metal hydride and nicad batteries have memory, so trying to trickle charge these is either impossible with simple charging or it becomes a complicated set of rules to follow with a smart programmed charger that can not only recharge batteries but sense their condition as well. Even more complicated is that devices drain batteries at different rates and different batteries may drain at different rates even with the same machine.

MAINTAINING BATTERIES
Batteries must also be maintained. Overcharge, undercharge, and the frequency of charging all effect the battery life. Charging may never reach the full capacity of the battery, depending on its age life cycle. Environment is also a factor as batteries can give up the ship when the temperature drops to freezing temps in winter.

NEW TECHNOLOGY SUPER CAP
The dream is to perhaps toss the battery altogether and use another technology like a super super capacitor that can hold a large enough amount of energy so that it can be drained over several days. However, these are often quoted as having the ability to last only minutes or seconds!

SUPER CAP LONGEVITY
We determined the longevity (time in which it can deliver useable power) of a massive super capacitor using calculus dv/dt = i/c. At .03 amps and rounding to 3 volts for the Propeller chip, a 100 F super capacitor can provide only 2.7 hours of drain, while a 500 F super capacitor is more practical at 13 hours. Two of these capacitors in tandem could indeed help the Cortex make it through the night without solar power, providing the caps are fully charged during the day and the batteries have full reserves.

CORTEX REQUIREMENTS
Our requirements are to supply some charging energy from a solar panel that may have periods of lessened energy during the day (as if the sun went behind clouds, or more realistically, a light was turned off inside a room.

During the night, the machine will draw energy and the solar panel will automatically disengage. The battery, or super super capacitor must have enough energy to survive the night. In this situation, we set the bar at 2 days reserve.

TRI LEVEL ENERGY SYSTEM
Now considered is a tri level energy system. The TRI POWER includes the solar cells, super super capacitor, and batteries. Room lighting will activate the solar panel and trickle charge the super capacitor which helps maintain the battery during the night.

CHARGING COMMON ALKALINE
A number of sources describe charging common alkaline batteries, but this is complicated too, as its important to sense the heat level of the battery to ascertain when the charge cycle should be completed. This does not fit into a simple charging scheme.

CONCLUSION
It's still up in the air as to which battery type will work the best with a simple charging system. Alkaline is most common, yet the availability of Nickel Metal Hydride is still a consideration. Lithium Ion has charging requirements that are not met by the solar panel. Lead acid batteries are not available in the size required. Yet, energy supplied to the Cortex must be constant, reliable, or the brain will die and cease to function. This is why the consideration is now from three electric sources - solar, capacitive, and battery. Solar is renewable energy and the capacitor can store it and release it over time. The challenge is now finding a suitable battery.

Brain Cortex Index Part 16

Brain Cortex Part 3 - Solar Panel

This solar panel will keep the cortex brain alive

BRAIN CORTEX SOLAR PANEL

Polycrystalline panel back side

This post represents more updates to our Brain Cortex in a jar project. The rabbit jar, as discussed in the previous post, has slightly squared off sides and this is a perfect form factor for the internal solar panel that will be statically mounted inside along the jar.

Walk in electronics store - Taiwan

POSITIONING
In this way, the jar can be positioned sideways stationary to gather in light relative to the incoming light angle of the source to create the Propellers power, without the problems of a round jar rolling around or deflecting the incoming light at various circular induced angles.

Homes Kit Solar Panel (Taiwan)

FUNCTION
The panel is fully functional with room ambient light, artificial lighting, and direct solar light. During the day when located in a room, the cells act as a trickle charger for the two 1.5-volt rechargeable AA batteries at approximately 1.3 volts. With more direct lighting, the Propeller chip is sustainable at its full requirement of 3.1 volts without battery deficit depletion.

Solar Panel SM-8656, 3V @ 120 MA

NO BATTERY NEEDED
Under certain lighting conditions where the voltage output is around 3 volts, the solar panel can power the Cortex without battery power.

DAY NIGHT MODE
We are working on a circuit that will automatically switch the Cortex from day to night mode. In day mode, the solar panel provides power and recharge ability, and in night mode the Cortex switches over to battery power.

SOLAR PANEL SPECS
The Solar Panel is purchased from the main electronics parts store. The Homes polycrystalline solar module is rated for operations at 3v @ 120 mA, part number SM-8656,  88 (L) X 58 (W) X 5 (H) mm, weight 35.85 grams. Homes provides a choice of 30 different solar panels and solar modules. Most of these are in stock at the electronics parts store mounted near the ceiling.

EXPERIMENT
In a typical experiment, the panel put out 1.3 volts in ambient room light and up to 3.4 volts directly under a high intensity lamp.

COST & POWER
The NT$299 (US$10.17) priced Solar Panel has a rating of (P=EI) 25 ohms, 0.36 watt as calculated based on its specification rating. 

ONLINE POWER CALCULATOR
Here is an online calculator for calculating power and other values. http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-ohm.htm.

MANUFACTURER
The manufactures web site is at http://www.100y.com.tw/htm1/542901234.htm. As mounted and protected in the jar, the estimated expected life of the solar panel is from 20 to 40 years.

Cold Talk Emergence

EMERGENCE OF
COLD TALK
ASIA 2013 -- It's now possible to talk on your cell phone to someone who's cold, i.e. not warm flesh and blood.

KNOWN AS COLD TALK
Smart phones now have their own version of an electronic assist device. One can carry on a conversation known as a cold talk, with one of these purely electronic artificial intelligence devices. There's simply no warm human at the other end of the conversation. Add yet another reason for being occupied with your cell phone. On this day, groves of people were everywhere glued to their cell phones. This photo was snapped during a traffic survey. It's unsure how long this group was motionless, with only moving fingers and standing in exactly the same position. They appear to be shoppers, at one time, at the Rose. But when they emerged, they suddenly fell victim to a trance-like stance, in the standard cell phone coma position. Could this be the beginning of a new cell phone zombie era? As smart phones become smarter on their way up, are users of smart phones on their way down?