the re:bike – an introduction
The rebike [1] is an
autonomous mobile network hub,
powered by renewable energy.
The current version was inspired by the nice folks at reboot
who asked us to build an instance for this year’s reboot ‘action’ theme [2].
An earlier version (copenhagen connected cycle, 2003) [3] put networking equipment and solar power supply
on board a heavy bike taxi,
which has an engine and 2 support batteries to connect to.
The reboot re:bike consists of a
- Nihola (c) family bike [4]
- 50 watts monochrystalline solar panel
- 35 Ah gel battery
- 10 Amps charge controller
- Linksys NSLU2 [5], running Debian Lenny (ARM processor), booting off USB stick – as router and host for 3G dongle
- Huawei E160 USB dongle [6] for 3G network
- Ubiqiti Bullet2 for wireless redistribution and routing [7]
- a bike basket made from scrap cabling
- a camera mount made by the reprap [8]
This current setup is designed to run about 10-20 Watts of consumer load,
for 20-30 hours without recharge.
While a simple 3G-to-wireless network hub can be run on much lower power, it is essential for the system to have some comuting and storage power, e.g. for video processing, local content and collab workspaces.
Future versions will feature
- bike dynamo power
- flexible solar panels integrated with the bikes rain protection hood
- lower total power consumption, through improvement of on-board devices and software
Regardless of instance, re:bikes are built according to a few principles:
* autonomous renewable energy supplies – “Dont build anything you can not power autonomously” – “Use less power”
* free and open source software -
* open hardware designs
* to the extent possible, rebikes are built from “obtainium” – recycled materials, things you find
The wider concept of the re:bike is not limited to bicycles:
Wearable computing and networking systems are within its scope,
and a version currently in its design phase is in fact a light weight backpack kit.
Motivations and applications
In privileged environments like Copenhagen City, there s certainly no lack of networks.
In fact, collaborative reduction of networks would be a lot more needed than additional signal.
Stable grid electricity is not a problem either -
however we would like to be independent of static power grids and strictly adhere to a zero carbon footprint priciple.
So in the privileged urban context, our main interest is that in a fully mobile network node that may be used for events, interventions, urban actions, and also as an educational vehicle.
Typical applications include
* general internet access
* GPS data, streamed to the openstreetmap project [9]
* video capture
The core motivation for this development however stems from the requirements of
user owned networks in less privileged (often rural or remote) environments,
as often found in so called developing countries.
Here, solar energy (and other renewable sources) are often the only option, making reduction of power uptake even more crucial:
1 Watt of consumer load typically means
$ 50 – 150 spent on solar panels and batteries.
Both scenarios – privileged or underprivileged – share a common vision:
networks -
open – sustainable – user controlled -
running on solar/wind/hydro/human power.
In order to get closer to this vision,
the re:bike will be further developed, touring various hacking events, workshops and confererences.
It can be booked for events, based on a donation model – sometimes referred to as “Berlin payment” -
you give what you feel is appropriate,
and all incoming contributions in money, goods or work will be invested in future versions of re:bike projects.
See here [10] for a list of people who have contributed so far.
URLs
[1] http://rebike.dk
[2] http://reboot.dk
[3] http://wire.less.dk
[4] http://nihola.info/da/nihola+cykler/cigar+family/
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSLU2
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huawei_E160
[7] http://ubnt.com/products/bullet.php
[8] http://reprap.org/bin/view/Main/WebHome
[9] http://www.openstreetmap.org/
[10] http://write.less.dk/?p=149
