| It looks like they are trying to make them in a locally sustainable manner... >We're doing this in our approach to distributing GravityLight >We are partnering with local networks of people earning a living by selling products such as GravityLight, rather than disrupting local markets and jobs with free giveaways. >We're doing this in our manufacturing strategy >We aim to create jobs and skills in the regions where GravityLight will be sold, firstly by establishing an assembly line in Kenya. from http://gravitylight.org/our-approach-3/ --- And it looks like they've already run into robustness issues, but they weren't due to cheap plastic components, and it looks like they've modified the system to deal with them... >GL01 had a protection mechanism that clearly indicated an overload with a red light, and helped reduce damage to the gear teeth by allowing it to run more swiftly, but this did not make it indestructible. An entirely novel way of protecting the system has been designed for GL02. It will allow an overloaded bag to descend to the ground in a safe and controlled manner, repeatedly. >GL02 suspends the bag from a pulley, which reduces the strain on the cord and the gearing. This also decreases the loading on the drive system and permits a smaller gearbox ratio, which helps to improve efficiency. from http://gravitylight.org/coming-soon-gl02/ |