Project Primary Colors refers to a class I am taking in which Art&Design, Architecture, and Engineering students are brought together to collaborate and solve real-life issues. The class is called SmartSurfaces, but I call this project primary colors because each discipline alone can produce only so many "hues" of things. However, when you combine the primary colors what do you get? You get all the possibilities. This is how I view this class.
For my blog, I will be mainly discussing any interesting articles I find that inspire me, either for new solutions to already exisiting problems, or things that I never would have thought of.
WildCharge - Article 1
The first thing I am going to discuss is WildCharge (http://www.wildcharge.com/). This company has created a wire-free power source pad-like device.
It is hard to see from the above picture, but how this works is that there is a "Star Map" that is stuck onto the back of your cell phone or laptop or whatever you want to charge. The cellphone etc. is then placed onto the pad, which then charges the object. The "Star Map" is specially arranged electrical contacts that "complete the circuit" (creates a closed electrical curcuit) when placed on the pad, and thus then charges the device.
If something is on the pad that isn't supposed to be, the electrical circuit will then be open and no charge will flow. Once the object is removed, the pad works as normal. So for example, if you put your hand on the pad, nothing will happen because the second you put your hand down the circuit is not closed anymore.
Appeal:
When I first heard about this device my mind immediately thought of UNIVERSITIES. The number of times I have gone to the library and have NOT had an outlet is probably greater than the number of hairs I have on my head (and no I'm not bald...but have pulled out some hair from the frustration of not having an outlet)!! If these could be placed on study tables or buses etc. this would be a life saver.
However, this invention also sparked a different thought process. This pad is still dependent on having an electrical outlet somewhere... So how could this be improved? If there was no need for an electrical outlet... So this sparked my interest in taking "natural" mechanical energy and making it into electrical energy....which leads me to my next article of interest Levant Power Corp. (see MIT article http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/shock-absorbers-0209.html).
Levant Power Corp - Article #2
Now this article isn't a new article, but still a very cool thing. The main premise behind this MIT created technology is 'Where is energy wasted'? They realized that when a car goes over bumps the energy the suspension springs exert to minimize the feeling of these bumps is going to waste. So they created a new suspension system that routes the liquid (used in suspension systems) through an external circuit.
In general, I find this article interesting because I like the idea of using "natural" energy.
Here is a great forum for energy harvesting.http://www.energyharvesting.net/ I'm sure I'll be using some articles from here.
Piezoelectrics - Article #3
Another interesting aspect of converting mechanical energy to electrical energy is piezoelectrics. Although this is not a new concept, I still find it very interesting.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/house-music-energy-crisis1.htm
Piezoelectrics is where mechanical strain on certain materials (usually crystals, like Quartz) creates a separation of charge across a material. Now if charge is separated, then when the mechanical strain is removed the material will return to its original, neutral state. When the strain is removed, there will be charge movement in the material to return to its neutral state, this movement is what produces current.
http://www.ece.ncsu.edu/erl/microrobotics/actuation/actuation.html
The main idea with Piezoelectrics is that if flooring areas are replaced with piezoelectric systems, then electricity can be generated just from people walking. The idea of applying this to heavily populated/traveled areas is very interesting because it requires no extra effort from people, since all they are doing is walking. Things like dance floors, hospital floors, subways stations would all be ideal choices.
Hey Michelle, I've actually heard of something in development at Amway that is exactly the same as the WildCharge article you posted. Kaitlyn Scott, one of the MSE that just graduated this spring, is working at Amway and told me about a project they've had in development to enable someone to charge their computer, or anything else, by setting it on a counter top. Really a neat concept, it would help eliminate the plug issue in the Ugli.
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