So it has been a while since my last post and I need to give an update...

Joanna, Gustavo, and I have been working on making our final model for our presentations possible.

I am working on the turbine and making it a working lighting system for presentations.
Gustavo is working on making the canopy, he has already sent the model into the shop to get it laser cut
Last but certainly not least, Joanna is busy trying to get our final poster together.


I have gotten almost all of my materials I need to make my turbine. The only thing I am waiting on is trying to straighten out a piece of vinyl tubing so that I am able to have a see through casing around my wire, as in my proposed design.

Another update on the turbine is I am debating on whether too have 2 or 3 loops of wire. To try and give me maximum current to light up my led. 3 loops will allow a 120 degree out of phase loop that will make it possible to have current at al times.

Hopefully I can have a somewhat prototype on friday to show everyone.

05/13 Mid-Review Presentation (1 of 4 posts)

05/13 Mid-Review Presentation (2 of 4 posts)

05/13 Mid-Review Presentation (3 of 4 posts)

05/13 Mid-Review Presentation (4 of 4 posts)

Turbine Column Update

I am beginning to think a little more about the turbine tower and what physical attributes it should have and what exactly the make up of it should be. So here is what I have so far to this date.

The tower will be approximately 7-8 feet tall and consist of many turbines all varying in size and possibly aesthetics.

The tower will have a Plexiglas or Polyurethane cover to keep water off of visitors and protect the turbines from damage.

The outside of the turbine will have a label on it designed out of copper wire saying either "STEM STOPS" or " RANDOM ACTS OF SCIENCE".


I was also looking at more turbine design related material today. After reading a little bit about how an AC generator works and viewing some pictures I am thinking of making the turbine a 6-fin turbine with 1 set of fins (2 fins) being a U-shaped magnet or two separate magnets with opposite poles adjacent to one another. (I will post a picture for clarification later)

The website I looked at was http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_2/chpt_1/1.html

Besides the fins, I am thinking of making the support rod a combination of many small copper wires that will be soldered into one single rod and then be connected through a circuit. I was also thinking about having one thicker copper rod be the support. I just have to figure out which method will give me the most current, that I will find out later.


A caveat I have thinking of this route to take for the turbine tower was whether or not soldered or welding the copper wire will affect its ability to generate current. Or maybe which method (soldering or welding) would be best to join the turbines to the wall and label to the rest of the circuit.

Until next time, "You Stay Classy San Diego!"- Ron Burgundy

05/10 Update

Our group met yesterday afternoon/evening to compile images for our collages, go over current ideas for the form of the canopy, as well as the various points to cover for our presentation on Friday. Here are a couple of collages...

Update on the Turbines

So a few days ago I had the idea of possibly making a column that was filled with different size and oriented turbines that would allow visitors of all sizes a look at the inner working of a turbine.
This entire column, or at least most of it would produce power that supplied some object in the exhibit. That object has yet to be decided on.
I will try to upload some pictures later of what I want this to look like as of now.

Beyond that a few touches I thought would be nice would be to have a protective case around the turbines that served two purposes: 1) it would keep the unfiltered water off of the visitors and 2) it would make sure no one could damage the turbine.

We plan on supplying this column through a hand pump system my group partner, Gustavo, thought would be a cool addition. The system would run through a hollow canopy that is still in the works, and eventually shoot out over the head of the visitors like a waterfall effect through the column of turbines and back into the river.

Steps for me to take as of now is to learn how to make an efficient hand pump so users are not discourage from non-immediate satisfaction. And to also work on the design of the turbines. I have yet to make much progress on this since I have focused more on the conceptual design of the exhibit overall.

Here are some videos I found on youtube on how to make a handpump or some cool videos that gave me some ideas on how to make a handpump for our purposes.


http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4920388_hand-water-pump-work.html


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-10UKzKolY


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgR3cE9MRBs&feature=related


More to come...

Update Design

Here are some examples of our updated design for Team H2_Whoa! More to follow!

User Persona #2

Roberto, a retired professor from Chile, is visiting San Luis Obispo for the first time. While finishing his fantastic meal at a restaurant by the creek, he catches a glimpse of an intriguing, natural‐formed canopy down by the water. He spots a clear path from the restaurant down to the creek, and eagerly begins making his way down to the canopy with his wife. Once Roberto reaches the bottom of the creek‐level steps, he becomes awed at the rays of sunshine piercing through the openings within the canopy, allowing him to peek up at the restaurant he just came from and across to the other side of the creek. His exhausted wife rests on a comfortable bench and starts to study a sign nearby. Though she does not understand English very well, she can tell that the sign and icons indicate different locations of renewable energy exhibits throughout downtown San Luis Obispo. Meanwhile, Roberto enters the canopy and discovers a trail of turned‐off LEDs lining the patterned panels. He sees a small crank nearby and immediately makes a prediction that the crank will light up the LEDs under the canopy. There is a diagram of instructions for the crank, but being a dynamic and somewhat analytical learner, Roberto grabs the crank handle and excitedly observes what happens next. He hears an extra loud splash of water and notices a water wheel by the edge of the creek turning at a consistent speed. Seconds later, the LEDs under the canopy light up and become brighter and brighter. Within a minute, a string of lights race along the walls on both sides of the creek, as if they were racing to a finish line. Roberto hears loud cheering from several people strolling down the opposite end of the creek. A couple children looking from the nearby bridge excitedly make a dash down the path toward the canopy to try the crank too. Roberto and his wife take a photograph together under the canopy with his iPhone and then step aside to relax on the bench. He notices a QR code on the sign with the site map and scans it with his iPhone. An animation quickly downloads onto the phone, clearly demonstrating the concept behind the process of using water to generate energy by turning a crank.

User Personas

On a nice Saturday afternoon, Rebecca and her two daughters Tiffany and Stacey take a stroll near the San Luis Obispo Mission. As they walk near the creek Tiffany who is eight years old yells “Look mommy! There is something on the other side of the creek”. They notice a wall structure with a translucent skin to it. Stacey who is six years old asks if they can go across to see what it is. Rebecca says yes and they start crossing the bridge to view what the structure is. As they go down the stairs Tiffany notices a crank and a wheel near the creek. Her mom tells her to start turning the crank. A pipe begins to shoot water towards the wheel which begins to rotate the wheel. Within a matter of moments the wall begins to light up. Tiffany and Stacey begin to jump with excitement as they notice that the lights continue to light up down the sidewalk near the creek. Tiffany asks her mom what is going on. Rebecca walks towards the exhibit and reads a poster explaining the science behind the turbine. She tells them that the movement from the water creates energy by rotating the wheel which spins magnets around a copper coil. As they continue to spin the wheel, people walking across the sidewalk notice the bright lights and sound of water splashing. They cross the bridge to see the exhibit and interact with it. Rebecca notices that there is a map showing other displays around down town. She asks her daughters if they would like to see more exhibits. They yell out “Yes” with much excitement. They continue back up to the mission to finish their stroll by seeing other STEM Stops around town.

Exhibit Design Update (in-class discussion)

The three of us spent most of class today talking about what our display will look like. The current thematic idea is to have a canopy of opaque/translucent/open panels to act as an attention grabber for the public around the site. This move from our original idea of having a wall lining the edge of the creek sidewalk will offer the visitors a more memorable experience.

What the canopy/display might also have:

• LEDs scattered throughout the canopy panels (color/intensity can be adjusted)
• A miniature model of downtown San Luis Obispo indicating other renewable energy displays and their locations
• Technology-based method of providing additional information to users (i.e. through smart phones)
• Process: [crank]--[water wheel]--[water pump]--[LEDs]

Some questions that came up:

• How can the canopy be seamlessly integrated with the hydropower display?
• What can be done so visitors will feel at ease walking through the site (instead of feeling like they're walking through a dark tunnel/alley)? How visible is the project from various points above the creek level?
• How can a sequence of effects allow the public around the site to notice users' activity underneath the canopy? How can the display extend to the public and draw them closer to the hydropower display?
• Will it be an issue if too much electricity is generated at once (i.e. blowing up LEDs)?

Next steps to our project include developing different user personas and scenarios to address the reactions among various people.

Survey!

As a followup to our survey response, our group made an online survey so our fellow friends and connections on facebook can respond to it. At this moment, about 800 people have been invited to respond to the survey. Within 5 minutes we have received over 15 responses!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6JWGNFJ

Wall Idea

A quick model of a wall idea. Please note, work in progress.

Our current direction/discussion

A current list of our exhibit at its current stage considering site, program, and materials.




SCALE/SCOPE:

01. Site along sidewalk ( Canopy?)-->Exhibit shape?
02. Turbine under sidewalk
03. Bridge across creek--> out of budget, dangerous!
-1 Turbine enough to power entire display?
- Adjustments for transporting to clients?


PROGRAM:

01. Input/interaction.
-Displayed info--> keep it simple
-Crank, lever, or a button. Perhaps multiple options for various visitors to use all at once.
02. Process/Tools
-Turbine

03. Results
- Changing light colors
- Powering model city/homes

04. Attention Getter
-Player


MATERIALS:

-Metal Frame, Frosted Plates, [Lightweight], Nightlights (automatic)?

Front End Evaluation Question.

Front End Evaluation Questions

1. What do you think renewable energy is?

2. What do you know about Hydropower/Hydroelectricity?

3. Can you think of a real life example using water to produce energy?

4. If you were given an opportunity to turn a crank, pull a lever, or push a button which one would you choose?

5. Do you know how a water turbine works? If no, would you be interested in learning the mechanics of a turbine?

6. What is a memorable museum exhibit that you liked? Can you please describe it?

7. How do you see the future of San Luis Obispo in terms of generating power? Would you opt for more renewable energy choices?