Shackleton Creates Life-Saving Solar Radio

"Chile," wrote Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda, "was invented by a poet."

It’s true that many mysteries surround this slither of land, otherwise known as the longest country in the world. Measuring an astonishing 2,647 miles from north to south, Chile is full of unusual landscapes; mountains, deserts and beaches thanks to its long, but narrow stretch. However, three tectonic plates also sit on its land, making it the most earthquake-prone country in the world.

Recognising this problem, Shackleton has created a solar radio and, thanks to Chile’s National Emergency Office (ONEMI), is encouraging the public to include it in their home emergency kits. Current kits should contain basic survival equipment such as water, a torch, a pen knife, money and food.

But the addition of the ONEMI radio would help citizens to stay in contact even if other connections are down.

Using photovoltaic cells, the radios function without electricity or batteries and are powered by solar radiation alone (luckily, Chile receives the most solar radiation in the world). The radios will be able to transmit vital information quickly across communities and could possibly help to save lives.

“We had the opportunity to increase the value of radio as a means of communication, a media that in the digital era is considered obsolete,” says Shackleton’s ECD, Gustavo Marioni. “It is incredible that in emergencies, the solution ends up being one of the oldest technologies.”

The radios are being distributed for free at various community prevention courses led by ONEMI’s computer emergency response department. Click here to visit the radio station’s webpage, although it is only available in Spanish.