Some new ideas on electronics design-Barat Lights

I do wish to address the end user, looking at a requirement at their end, rather than forming a idea of a product myself.

To start with I'm looking at providing simple solutions to common problems, but what is important here is that the end user is the main person to be addressed. Technology and electronics take the back seat and are a platform to help the end user. Rather than telling the end user to use(or even enjoy) a technology, I tend to focus on what he really wants.

I'll be looking at people giving me some insight into this form of product design and development.

I start here with what I felt was a very simple way to help. I was in a marriage function two days back, more specifically in the "Barat". It's hard to miss the men carrying sort of light towers on their shoulders. It's a fascinating thing and is such a essential part of each "Barat". There is always a huge truck at the back of the Barat which carries the generator. Since all the towers are connected via a cable, they need to more in sync, and more often than not, there is unnecessary pulling at the cables. Add to it the fact that the AC wires carrying 230 volts are hanging and people are touching them and dancing near them.

The solution I find fit would be replacing a few things in the setup. The prime most end user (the guy owning the Barat equipment) requirement is cost. I'm not sure why some of these measures have not yet been taken, but i'll talk to few of Barat-lights providers and find out. The two cost factors are short term i.e. investment and long term i.e. recurring savings benefits. Minimizing the investment and maximizing short term gain, would make it lucrative for these people as they can't be made to see too much in the future (mainly due to lack of good education).

The options for making the light system better are as follows:

• Replacing the incandescent light bulb with LED lamps - This would essentially reduce the size (power and physical) of the generator set being carried. Another point here is the colour, cause people are used to the yellow tint of the light bulbs, and most high power LEDs are white. But new designs have a yellow "warm" tint also, though I'm yet to explore these LEDs.
• If the above point is true, the generator set can be replaced by a inverter with battery - This option requires a huge initial investment and may not be financially possible for the Barat-lights owner. Moreover the battery has a huge recurring cost, which could bring down the income of the owner. This options is viable if the owner is starting new and/or is looking to replace an old generator set.
• Another option would be re-developing the whole system all together. This would be an ideal system, with least initial investment and large long term gains - This system would replace the whole system to be battery powered, as LEDs run on DC anyways. The batteries can be in the towers or there can be a big battery at the end carried by a last man. This allows the men to be still connected together via wires ( let's not break the tradition). Moreover a bigger battery means less long term battery replacing battery cost. Since the LEDs are running directly via battery, no DC-AC-DC conversion loses occur, these occur in the inverter option above.

A small setup demonstrating the above options and solid proof of savings is the next obvious step, before the Bharat-lights providers can adopt any of the above systems. Another important thing to consider would be demonstration of how easy it is to shift to the new system(s) and how little the essential things(front-ends) change.

Let me work to getting something out of this idea.

Edit :1 : One of my close friends, pointed out that he has already seen such a thing being implemented and was too kind to even send me some pictures, find them below. I'm getting more information from him and will keep you updated, especially about the generator at the back, which i think is the worst part of it all.

Edit: 2: Well the generator is still there. Bump. So we still have work to do?  There is also an arrangement to easily change the dead LEDs as easily as light bulbs.