OCT 4
Project Idea - Bicycle Generators
Inveneo open source plans for Bicycle Generator
I saw one of these powering a computer, wireless station at NextFest. Their setup had a
1:3 power ratio: 15mins of cycling charges 45mins of a gel cell battery, which I was
told could be bought for around $30?
I am interested in making one of these bicycle generators, and perhaps a group of them
for an interactive human powered experiment. Wih the energy created, we could charge our laptops, phones and measure the total energy output to calculate energy consumption and perhaps gain some insightful information
Some design/constuction requirements I would like to follow:
-Upcycleable and or Created from pre-existing materials
-Comfortable
-Quiet
-Effecient/consistent
-Pleasant
-Inviting
-Exercise/health
Some related links:
Econvergence Plans
SEP 14
What are my stakes in this class? What matters to me?
Sustainability matters to me because we all share a common home: Earth. Since we live under one roof, we have to work together to sustain our home for ourselves, our children and so on.
What annoys me most about this?
Selfishness, carelessness and SUVs. Many people are only concerned with themselves and the few people close to them. They aren't interested in sustaining earth because they can't see the immediate affects. If it is not instantly gratifying, then it doesn't matter to them and they could care less about putting forth any kind of effort to sustain our home.
Andrew's proposal for big class project
I am definitely interested on working to take ITP (parts of it) off the grid. In particular, I would like to work on man-powered generators, something with bicycles, generators and capacitors? This may not be efficient, but I don't care about efficiency right now. I want people to work for and appreciate their energy. Understanding how much work is needed to produce energy may enlighten energy consumption and this may lead to more conscious use of it.
My interests
**Learning ways to self-generate power. Via groups of people cycling, treadmill (some sort of manual physical labor) that transforms physical exercise into useable/storable energy.
**Changing the way people think about sustainability. How do we make it so people care about the planet, about our future and our children's future? How can we make sustainability refreshing and hip, like the Beats or other art movements?
**An idea is to design a device(s) that rewards people with an immediate indication/gratification that they have done good by recycling.
