The LuminAID is a solar-rechargeable light that is waterproof, lightweight, and inflates to diffuse light like a lantern. LuminAID technology was invented in 2009 by Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta.
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Product
The LuminAID light has a solar panel, rechargeable battery, and a multi-chip LED light. According to its makers, after a full charge, it can deliver 35 lumens for 8 hours or 20 lumens for 16 hours and the battery can be recharged over 500 times, for years of use.
The product has won first place in several business competitions, including the $100K Midwest 2013 Clean Energy Challenge, the William James Business Plan Competition, and the Chicago Booth School of Business Social New Venture Challenge. The technology is currently patent-pending under the United States and the Patent Cooperation Treaty internationally.
History
LuminAID Lab is the manufacturer and producer of LuminAID lights. The company was founded in 2011 by Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta, who invented the technology in 2010 in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake while at Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. They later experienced firsthand the damage caused by large-scale disasters while on a school trip during the March 2011 earthquake in Japan.
The inventors saw its potential as an outdoor recreation accessory in the US and began marketing it in that way. Its launch was linked to Indiegogo in an arrangement whereby purchasers could either buy two for $25, with one unit sent to a developing country, or buy a single unit for $10 to be donated.
Shark Tank appearance
Stork and Sreshta appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank in February 2015 seeking a deal to fund their company. They received offers from all five of the “sharks,” and accepted a deal with Mark Cuban for $200,000 for 15 percent of their company’s equity.