At CES 2016, we met Patrick Sherwin, the founder of GoSun. The company was announcing a fascinating new solar stove that was built through inspiration from Patrick's experience working with roofing. It uses solar directly to cook food in a tube, and can be used with 12-volt power for use at night or in bad weather. Since 2016, Patrick and GoSun have expanded their product line, staying focused on solar-powered products and the camping community.
This year, we are introduced to the current GoSun product lineup. It now includes nearly everything that regular campers could possibly want. The core of the product line is the power solutions. You can get small, portable solar panels in 10-watt and 30-watt options. You can use these solar panels to power many devices, but the most obvious is a power bank. Charging one of the GoSun banks, like the Power 144, allows you then power your devices and charge the bank at the same time.
One of the really intriguing product categories on offer was focused on water. These newer products have won a CES Innovation Award for 2021, which indicates a unique and useful product. In this case, you can get a solar-powered water purifier and pump, and a portable sink and shower that connect to the pump. The purifier is small enough to fit into a backpack, runs on solar, and can filter up to 99% of pathogens from water.
While the obvious target here is camping, it was hard for us to also focus on the usefulness in the event of natural disasters. This comes from much of the team living on the Gulf Coast and knowing what happens after a hurricane. The water filter would mean being able to trust the water we hoard in our bathtubs ahead of the storm, and possibly other water we receive after a storm.
The GoSun product line, which is wider than we have covered here, is available from the company's website or on Amazon.
Interview by Christopher Jordan of The Talking Sound.
Scott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLUGHITZ Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the rhythm game community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and helping with ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. He has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab.