Little Inflatable Bag Brings Affordable Light to Disaster Reliefvar NREUMQ=NREUMQ||[];NREUMQ.push(["mark","firstbyte",new Date().getTime()]); (Mashable)

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After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Columbia University architecture students Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta got an assignment to create something that might be helpful in aiding the stricken country. They tore up inflatable toys, melted plastic and experimented with solar power. What they came up with was not an emergency structure, but a solar-powered inflatable light. The LED light, which charges in the day for use at night, folds to the size of a wallet and weighs less than an iPhone.

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When inflated, the bag diffuses the tiny lightbulb to create an orb that glows brightly. It also makes the contraption both waterproof and able to float.

"It was the smallest and quickest thing that we developed throughout our semester," Sreshta says.

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"It was just that nobody had thought of putting LED with inflatable before," adds Stork. "But it makes so much sense."

The emergency lightsources shipped to Haiti after the earthquake were mostly heavy solar powered flashlights. Because the lightweight LuminAID alternative keeps shipping and customs expenses low, it would have been a more practical solution.

Stork and Sreshta are hoping that their product will be used in future disaster relief situations.

In a recent IndieGoGo campaign, they raised more than $50,000 to help push production of the gadget forward. For every $25 contributor, they're sending one light to the investor and another to be distributed through the Root Alliance to rural schools, homes and small-business owners in India. More than 1,000 people contributed $25 or more.

It also happens that LuminAID -- lightweight, waterproof and likely to be sold for less than $10 -- makes for excellent camping equipment. So even if you're not involved in disaster relief, you'll be able to order one from the LuminAID website sometime between January and February.

Sreshta demonstrates how the light works in the video above. What do you think of their invention? Let us know in the comments.

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/mashable/20111215/tc_mashable/little_inflatable_bag_brings_affordable_light_to_disaster_relief

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