ASU Professor pioneers backyard solar power in Arizona

Joseph Hui wants to put solar energy into your backyard. Further, he wants to put it in your backyard for only a dollar a day. Hui is an Arizona State University electrical engineering professor on weekdays, and an entrepreneur on the weekends. He has already had several successful start-ups that allowed him to fund his latest launch into creating cheap alternative energy sources. His product is called the Lotus Mobile. It's design is inspired by nature, something Hui calls, "bio-mimicry." It's shape emulates that of a palm tree reaching up toward the sun to catch light with its foliage. "It's very easy to install," Hui says, "you don't need to modify your rooftop," as you would with traditional rooftop solar panels. The Lotus Mobile could power a small air-conditioner or fridge by itself, reducing your electrical bill and costing you no more than a dollar a day. Hui says that with solar technology becoming more affordable and power providers not providing enough incentive for rooftop solar sources, he came up with the idea to create something completely new. After about three years of conceptualizing, the Lotus Mobile is set to be released to consumers later this year. Hui put in a bid for the Suntech solar power plant in Goodyear that went bankrupt earlier in 2013. He hopes to put those workers back into jobs manufacturing his Lotus Mobile systems.