a product of design school thesis.

Harvest Lab

Three questions I anticipate will be asked about my thesis work once completed.

1. What exactly is ambient energy harvesting?

2. Could the Harvest service work today or how many years out for it to work?

3. Why did you decide not to design it for developing countries?

1. By breaking the term “ambient energy harvesting” down, it may be easier to explain. The word “ambient” means existing within one’s immediate environment. “Energy” is the ability to do things or to work. “Harvesting” the method of gathering, such as an agricultural crop. Using these three descriptions, “ambient energy harvesting” is the process of capturing usable energy from natural and human-made sources that surround us in the everyday environment. Examples of natural are commonly known as renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and gravity. Human-made sources are artificial light, heat, sound, movement and vibration produced by living things as well as machinery. The human-made ambient energy harvesting is a relatively new area of study that has recently gained more traction due to smaller more efficient battery storage as well as the development of wearable devices. My work focuses mainly on capturing usable energy through human movement.

2. Through my research and prototyping, I have found that energy harvesting through human movement is viable today. Through the process of electromagnetic energy production, used in shake-powered flashlights, I have estimated that walking about 100 miles will charge two AA lithium ion batteries. The amount is incremental on an individual level, however it increases drastically when applied on mass scale. There are parts of the Harvest service that could be implemented today, such as the production of functional Pods to be embedded into footwear, apparel and bike accessories. The digital experience of a smartphone app syncing with the Pod to view the real time metrics is currently possible. The process of “uploading” harvested energy to a green grid bank system is plausible, but not completely viable today. Development is still required to transfer the energy from the user’s battery to the grid in an efficient manner. The question of how or where this energy is stored or used still needs to be worked out as well. Battery as well as energy harvesting technology is rapidly improving due to the need for powering mobile devices such as phones, tablets and wearable devices. According to an article in the July 2012 McKinsey Quarterly,“Battery Technology Charges Ahead,” the capacity of batteries will increase by 80-110 percent by the year 2020 or 2025. The price of batteries will reduce by 40-45 percent as well. The technology landscape will have advanced enough for the Harvest service to be possible by the year 2020 or 2025.

3. Initially I was looking to design a system that could work for industrialized nations as well as developing worlds. Though there is an immediate need for off-grid energy production for the energy poor market, I decided to focus my efforts on designing a system for the western world. To successfully design a system for the developing world, I would have to spend an ample amount of time in these locations researching local culture and behaviors. Due to the constraints of this work, I decided to concentrate on designing for the audience in the western world. New York City is a great resource for harvesting energy through movement, as there are almost 2 million people commuting in and out of Manhattan on a typical weekday. Once the Harvest service becomes successful within developed worlds, the system may be revised and scaled for use in developing worlds as well as areas lacking an electrical grid infrastructure.

(via In the Details: About That Solar-Powered Parasol Traveling Around Milan This Week - Core77)

(via Future is Now)

Establishing Interactions In-class Workshop

This in-class exercise consisted of a 45 minute discussion with another classmate about our thesis. By getting another point of view of the work, I was able to map out a more clear system consisting of nouns, context/channel and verbs for the Harvest energy harvesting service platform I am designing.

(via The Artificial Leaf Is Here. Again. - NYTimes.com)

This simple concept video illustrates the thinking of embedding small energy harvesting devices into shoes. This is the result of a "Fake It Before You Make It" workshop which was held at Google Creative Lab. This is the first time I've used Adobe After Effects.

This concept video showcases three working prototypes I have been developing to support my thesis work. Each acts as an opportunity for energy harvesting in the present and to encourage discourse around energy generation in the future.

Prospectus Book - Table of Contents Workshop

In class we worked in small groups to layout our the table of contents for our final Thesis Prospectus Book. By using cards for each chapter, we were able to easily add or edit the sequence. Much of the writing in my book from last semester is still relevant to my thesis, but some of the overarching goals, audience and outcomes have evolved.

This speculative energy harvesting armature is one part of a larger body suit. It was created in tandem with the short science fiction narrative I wrote titled "The Suit." It takes place in the year 2054, in a world where everyone must wear government mandated energy harvesting suits. Please follow link here for story:

http://damonaholathesis.tumblr.com/post/77147369813/the-suit-a-science-fiction-narrative

Thesis Lexicon

Lexi-can:

terms to use throughout the thesis work

Ambient:

within your immediate environment

Amp:

the unit measuring the amount of electricity that flows

Battery:

a device that produces an electric current using chemicals, the ability to storage energy

Benefit:

something that promotes well-being, advantage

Current:

the steady flow in one direction

Disrupt:

a change in the ways things are currently done or thought of

Electricity:

a form of the ability to work caused by the movement of tiny particles (i.e. electrons, ions, or other charged particles)

Embedded:

to be or become incorporated into a surrounding

Energy:

the ability to do things, to work

Generate:

to create something

Hack:

do it yourself modification of something

Harvest:

1.noun - a supply of anything gathered at maturity and stored

2.verb – to gather (a crop or the like)

Incentive:

something that promotes effort, as a reward offered for increased productivity

Joule:

a unit of work or energy (1 joule = 1 watt per second)

Millijoule:

1/1000 of a joule (1000 millijoules = 1 joule)

Milliwatt:

1/1000 of a watt (1000 milliwatts = 1 watt)

Movement:

actions or activities, as of a person or a body of persons

Platform:

a common design, formula or product related to a family or system

Power:

electricity made available to use, of doing or accomplishing something

Resource:

something that people can use

Scavenge:

to take or gather (something usable) from discarded material, similar to harvest

Value:

relative worth, merit, or importance

Volt:

the unit measuring the strength or pushing force of an electric current

Watt:

the amount of power that is created or used

Lexi-can’t:

terms to avoid throughout the thesis work

Creation of energy

Free energy

Labor

Money-saving

Sustainable

Work

(via ENERGY HARVESTING SNEAKERS – Art students hack Heelys! roller skate power, rollerskates energy, energy harvesting shoes, heely shoes, kinetic energy, derive - Gallery Page 2 – Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building)

(via Sustainable Energy - Christian Croft Spring 2007)

(via Auger Loizeau: Afterlife)