Abstract

Demand for renewable energy-based power sources is increasing over time as the world is facing crisis in non-renewable energy and being concerned about the future sustainability and environmental safety. The solar power bank can be a great solution in this context, as power bank is one of the most demandable devices and the integration of solar energy, which is regarded as an easily accessible renewable energy, which makes the device more sustainable and independent of non-renewable energy. In this study, a model of solar power bank has been proposed. To ensure that the product aligns with the customer demands, a comprehensive survey was conducted collecting data on the usage behavior, expectations and preferences of the customers. The collected data was analyzed in order to determine the significant customer demands which were then reflected in the objective tree and functional structure. A Quality Function Deployment (QFD) was employed through which the customer requirements were translated into measurable engineering specifications, the acceptable ranges of values were proposed. Based on the engineering specifications, the required components with necessary specifications were suggested and a digital model was formed in the Computer Aided design (CAD) software namely SolidWorks. The material selection of the power bank was done using the Digital Logic Method (DLM) by which the materials were evaluated and finally the top ranked material was selected for the power bank which was PVC in this case. The integration of customer-driven insights was reflected in this proposed solar power bank with the promotion of the renewable energy utilization which can be a great support during emergency situations like natural disasters.