Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Week 3- still Daily, Inflate, and Wind

This week seemed to be the most stressful for some reason. Once again the old idea was scrapped for the hope of something better. I liked the old idea (which I worked on last week) which was air purification and circulation but I admit there were a ton of flaws in our design. Lauren was the one who came up with the new idea of creating a solution for air infiltration. I did not know this before but a ton of heat is lost through any doorways, windows, etc in a house. This attempt at a solution would be to create a gasket system that would seal in windows, dramatically minimizing heat loss. The thing I liked about this project was that it tied directly into the architectural designs that were happening at the power house. The designers of the house had cut new holes in the wall which did create a more interesting facade but also created a heating problem. I hope the next group does refine our idea because I think it could greatly minimize heating costs but at the same time we left a lot of our design issues unresolved.  

I think the reason this week was so stressful was because everyone was feeling burnt out. Every time a new project was presented during critique it got such a harsh review that the new group was pressured to change it for something new and "brilliant." But it's kind of impossible to make something flawless in a week when you're starting from scratch again. Negative feedback is obviously very beneficial during critique but at the same time it deflates team moral after we kill ourselves to chug something spectacular out in a short time frame. The bulk of most projects being done over the span of one weekend because no one's schedule matches during the week. I think the critiques are the main reasons why everyone reinvents the projects each week. I'm still undecided whether this is a good or bad thing but it definitely adds stress and pressure within groups.  

Monday, September 19, 2011

Inflate, Wind, Daily

The second project was more challenging but more rewarding to work on. We scrapped a lot of the old idea which was a ventalation and shade unit that would be pretty expensive to manufacure. Instead we turned to jellyfish.
Jellyfish naturally cycle water in the oceans, making it cleaner. In the same fashion we wanted to create a device that would cycle and purify the air in one's home. The idea is hexagon shaped modules would form a partition in the house. Each module would be equipped with a bellow that would collect polluted air, say from a kitchen, and using actuators push it through a filter. For aesthetic effect each filter would be capped with a lightweight cloth that mimics the shape of a jellyfish head. As air is collected and filtered each "jellyfish" would inflate and deflate individually, creating an organic breathing motion throughout the wall. Jellyfish are also bioluminescent, which we will mimic using LEDs below the surface of each cloth cap. The LEDs will change color once the air is pure. 
All in all, I think we came up with a marketable concept that should be fairly inexpensive. I was one of the ones who came up with the look and motion of the jellyfish wall and all credit for the idea of air purification goes to Maria! I think our group did a good job of using everyone's skills in dividing jobs. I constructed the bellows pictured below. 


We also toyed with the idea of being able to connect one's ipod to the wall to have the jellyfish pulse with the music - we hope the next group wants to explore this! 

Monday, September 12, 2011

First Week of SmartSurfaces

Hello!

One week of smartsurfaces down and I can already tell this class is going to be awesome. I admit my first thought was that I was in way over my head because my group consists of three grad students who possess more mechanical and construction knowledge than I do but now I'm glad I'm a little out of my depth because I will be challenged in the class and undoubtably possess a whole new set of skills by the time I'm done. So lets begin!

My group's three words were "light, seasonally, and rotating." Immediately we wanted something that was functional, simple, and beautiful. Our initial thoughts was that the product could function as a shade from light or the rotation could be used for ventilation in a house. We each drew out our own sketch of what the device could look like then shared our ideas together. We came up with a design consisting of different moduales that would rotate open like a camera aperture when light were to hit it. We struggled with a lot of the details though and left many questions for next time. I, for one, have a hard time coming up with ideas on the spot and like to have time to mull things over.  




When we met later on in the week we had a much better time putting all our ideas to good use. We decided the device would ideally be an energy storage unit. Light would hit a solar cell which would trigger a gear to turn and start the first module rotating. This module would knock into the next and create a domino effect until all were turning. This action would collect energy when there was a abundant sunshine, which could be used with there was less sunshine. Therefore we managed to tie all our words cohesively together- light causes the rotating which is effected seasonally. All credit for the original design of the module goes to Ning. She created a beautiful tower shape that fanned in and out in an undulating fashion. Erika and I played with this design more and drew up sketches of how the towers could be designed so that they interacted more and continued the domino effect of rotation.  We kept refining our idea and adding on things. Currently each tower has a spine of photo cells that harvest the sun's energy. LEDs are also included to give it a spectacle effect and also reenforce the idea of seasons. For instance, the LEDs would give off yellow light during the summer nights and blue light during the winter nights. We also liked that the rotation of the device would make the towers look like one surface as opposed to separate items.

In conclusion, individual modules make up a rotating surface that uses photo cells to collect energy in the summer. With less light in the winter the device slows to a hibernation and the energy perviously collected can be used. The design gives it an intriguing aesthetic and sculptural beauty that can be added to one's home.