Window Heating Units

As an Alaskan transplanted to the New England area, my battle with the summer heat has been a constant uphill struggle to find some kind of happy medium to keep my core temperature from becoming entirely unpleasant.  My current solution has been to have a window AC unit at home set to as close to glacial as physically possible.  Come winter I have a different problem of not wanting to spend excessive money on keeping my apartment warm.  In an ideal world my residence would have thermostats in each individual room so that my bedroom was toasty, the living room pleasant, and if I magically had any other rooms in the space they wouldn't be huge energy draws.  In a more realistic version of reality getting a rented apartment to have a highly granular zoned temperature control is unlikely, so how is a renter to reduce their apartment's heating costs.  REVERSE AIR-CONDITIONING otherwise known as "Air Source Heat Pumps" can be used to capture the thermal energy of the outdoors (yes, if it is above zero degrees Fahrenheit, possibly colder, you can harvest thermal energy from the ambient air).

Currently there are a range of these heating systems available for general consumption, but none of them, according to my ten minute web search, are designed to be seasonally added to a window sill.  The benefit of this could be huge, instead of home owners buying incredibly inefficient heating element style home heating systems, consumers could buy a smart window unit that would capture ambient outdoor energy.

 Design challenges would be great, but not insurmountable. The total cost of the unit would need to achieve a reasonably short ROI, preferably less than three years, ideally less than one.   Cost consideration is where a clever business plan is most important.  Depending on the actual material cost of this system home-owners might balk at the up-front cost and not buy in, regardless of long term saving potential, so how do you get people to invest in a long term money saver, options include but are not limited to a model similar to roof top solar companies that rent your roof space and sell you the power.  The window heat pumps would not be owned by the home owner, but by a leasing organization, where the home-owner/renter simply buys the hot air from the company (some political joke here).  Power producers that identify customers who use electrical heating in their space could provide financial incentives to offset the cost to the consumer.  The window system would need to weigh no more than that of a currently available window AC unit that consumers would use in the summer.  After cost and weight are accounted for in the design, ease of use and ideally overall attractiveness of the design should then be accounted for.

Down the line dream features, the system can change which side it is pumping heat to and from, cooling in the summer, warming in the winter.  Connectivity to smart home systems, allowing the unit to know when to crank up the heat, ideally it could work with other systems in the home in concert, allowing for finer control of home energy use.

An alternative technology that I am unsure if it deserves its own post, so I will write it down here for the moment.

Smart blinds and curtains.  Windows can allow for a large amount of thermal energy to enter or escape the home, even well insulated windows can allow the energy of visible spectrum light to come and go as it pleases.  Well designed window coverings could offset some of a home's energy use (I'm going to need to look into that particular number 7/27).  On hot days in the summer, when no one is home, the smart blinds would lower a white and or silver curtain intended to reflect away excess sunlight.  In the winter the blinds would lower a darker covering designed to convert the visible energy of the light into thermal energy that would go into the house.  A very simple version of this system would use a small solar panel to power itself (or plug if need be) and use two types of curtains, one black one reflective to cool the house.  More sophisticated versions would use either smart materials or several layers of curtain material to give finer control of the amount of light allowed in and energy converted.

links for me to embed later http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/air-source-heat-pumps
http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/heat-pump-systems

The FreshStart Phone

A few days ago a friend of mine texted me asking about how hard it would be to embed solar panels in a low cost cellphone, so that individuals who for whatever reason were trying to get established, would have some way to communicate with their healthcare provider, parole officer, who ever they needed to reach out to to get back on their feet.  The core sentiment is an excellent one, provide a resource for those who are at the greatest risk to engage with society, my primary point of feedback was the power output of the solar panel.  Even under the best circumstances the available surface area of a cellphone would have a hard time collecting enough sunlight to conveniently charge a cellphone.  (I may do the math showing this later, but for the moment I am just going to keep the work conceptual)
Just because a cellphone would have a hard time being charged by sunlight does not mean we as a society couldn't create a device that would be truly useful to those less enfranchised.
Whatever design that is eventually developed it will need to meet a rather challenging list of constraints.  The design suggestions I am putting forth below are just one way a product could be designed to meet a user's needs but I feel it would represent what individuals  might desire in their smart device.  My temporary title for this phone is the FreshStart, if someone in marketing wants to change it, great, I never said I was great at naming things.

The biggest limiting factor is cost, no matter how you want to slice it the primary customers of our starter phone are not the end users, but organizations that need to be able to buy hundreds, if not thousands of devices without destroying their budget. While I have no idea how much per unit either the governments of the world or non-profits would be willing to go, I am going to assume that these phones are being distributed in countries like the US and as such a maximum price of $50 is far from unreasonable.  Current Nokia feature phones cost something like $30 so it shouldn't be that unreasonable to keep the dollar cost of the device close to that.

After cost comes reliability, the device needs to be physically tough and have a very high endurance.  Users may not be guaranteed the opportunity to charge their phone every day and so the battery capacity should reflect the need for going several days without charging.

Close after reliability is attractiveness of the device, users need to feel like the phone they are getting is something important and worth holding onto, it may be free to them, but it should also be something that they value for more than the phone calls.

So far I am reasonably describing currently available feature phones, many now have very excellent run times, so long as they are only used for calls and texting they can work for days. Personally I enjoy the simple look of the Nokia style brick phones (this could be a result of early 2000's nostalgia.)  What would be a distinguishing characteristic of the design is integrating the charger, the majority of phones require you to have a second piece of hardware to charge your phone.  By integrating  the charger you are reducing the number of things someone has to keep track of.  The FreshStart's back would have a simple two prong A/C connector that would allow the device to be directly plugged into a wall  outlet.  To compliment the A/C adapter and to acknowledge the fact that individuals are mobile and may not have a long period of time near an outlet, for example the time it takes for them to finish their coffee, the FreshStart would have part of its battery capacity be a non-removable high endurance rapid charging element, either an ultra-capacitor or an optimized breed of battery that I can't think of right now.  This batter would be intended to charge in under 2 minutes while providing enough energy for ten times or more run time, ideally several hours of use.

Additional features that would be nice but not required, built in USB ports to allow other devices to charge while the phone itself charges, a USB plug to allow the use of charging ports that are now showing up in cities, a flashlight, an E-Ink display.

As of now this is as far as I've gotten with the FreshStart's concept, when I get back to my desktop with CADsoftware I will try to create a 3-D render.


some follow up links, here is a case for the Iphone 5 that has the charger in built as suggested http://www.amazon.com/Prong-PocketPlug-Case-Protective-built/dp/B00F0X1JUC
 and here is where I got the Nokia price point
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2865184/microsofts-29-nokia-215-is-a-smarter-feature-phone-for-the-masses.html

Dear Electronics Manufacturers, Stop Keeping Me Up at NIght

Years ago I recall reading an article noting the reason why electronics devices have bright LEDs is that manufacturers want consumers to pay more attention to their product on show room floors, but most of us don't live in a showroom, so why do the LEDs remain at the same brightness?  Honestly, I'm going to blame some corporate marketing genius, but I HAZ SOLUTION!

Photo resistors, that's right, simple photoresistors.

Manufacturers could readily embed one or more micro light sensors, that would provide feed back into the power supply of any visible spectrum LEDs.  Using a relatively simple PWM on the power of the LED, your device could dim its lights in real world conditions but still be annoyingly bright on the showroom.  

Unfortunately the reason technology like this isn't implemented isn't a result of lack of technology, it's a result of lack of incentives for them to make this feature common place.

7/15/15 Follow Up

Option B, instead of using circuits that add to the cost and complexity of manufacturing electronics lighting, sticky pads.  Using the same style of adhesive that painters tape and Post It Notes (tm), make pads of material that are designed to cover individual LEDs.  A company could make a generic pad that covers a given area, read a square of material, or you could get customized pieces that more closely match a given device.

The reason for this, I hate putting pieces of tape on my electronics, but it seems like it is the only way to ensure that my bedroom isn't a damn glow cave

Updating the Igloo

On Monday afternoon I got a text from a friend asking if we could use Arctic Ice and plastic sheeting to make buildings in extreme northern/southern latitudes.  To which I asked "you mean an igloo?"  After some clarification it became obvious that he was hoping for something a tad more modern, and when there is a convergence of an upcoming technical job interview where one's design methodologies are being inquired on and the "client" is an old friend, what the hey?

The challenge for this design request is how generally vague it is, Forrest this is no disservice to you, I know it was a random idea communicated via a small number of text messages.  The goal, generally stated is to design a technology or series of technologies that allow teams to use local resources to set up housing that can survive extreme weather.  The other general restrictions are reasonable cost, ease of transport, and ease of assembly.  Oh crap, I almost forgot, ability to integrate modern technology.  

The design criteria are now roughly outlined, the question is how to prioritize things, a point value defining which variable makes the most sense is possible, going that far isn't really that rational when I don't have an actual client pain to address, this is more pie in the sky designing, consequently   semi-RANDOM SOLUTIONS with ARBITRARY CONSTRAINTS!  (whoo!)

During the initial "client discussion" I put forth one suggestion, make an inflatable habitat similar to an emergency life-raft.  It met the clients desire for an easily deployed structure that would protect users from the elements, but it did not meet his requirement for a longer term structure.  After several days of thought, I came to the decision that making the Smart Igloo as a singular structure would not make sense, it lacks the flexibility in use that the source inspiration had and making a one size fits all solution just does not feel right.

I envision two primary parts in the final system, a flat pack interior lining that helps keep the insides in and the outside out, the second system, exterior wall and ceiling elements designed to protect the gooey insides of the Smart Igloo.

For the interior, I would start with a vinyl rectangular solid.  (at this point I was planning on putting in a cool rendering, but the relative thickness of the vinyl to width of the Smart Igloo, just didn't work, so descriptions and non-scale MS Paint art ahoy)

The tube of vinyl would start with a thick floor layer, the walls would look something far less crappy than the image below. 

 

The black squares represent cable tie mount points, this would allow for the clients request for adding electrical hardware, data cables, whatever other additions needed by the end user.  (please note the number of cable tie mounts was more visually motivated than an actual system density, that would require an in depth analysis of use cases and cost benefits.)  The blue squares are transparent window holes to allow light to go through.  Said window locations might also be designed for the window panels to be removed and things like ducts for air-conditioning.  The ceiling of the system would look relatively similar, mounting points for wiring and lights.

Now that the interior system is roughly sketched out, to the exterior.  That is relatively easy, sandbags and/or Hesco Bastions (see image to the right), can be stacked on top of eachother to provide thermal mass and insulate the structure.  The real challenge is making the roof of the unit, and I keep flip flopping on how to do that, currently I am leaning towards sandbags designed to help making an arched roof.

Seeing as I have spent too many hours trying to make CAD models look appropriate, finding what the hell Hesco Bastions were called, so onto the real world, thank you for reading.

Sci Fi Weapons

Soon after the big bang the most common compound in the entire universe was Helium Hydride, according to a random science article I read, it is also theoretically one of the most powerful acids known.  Idea for a sci-fi weapon.  A super gun that shoots magnetically contained rounds of helium hydride, to sound even more bad-ass you could say it was in a metallic state.  Example line from a book.

Stellar Wind was screwed, not the usual run of the mill screwed that Planetary Recon dealt with on a new world. this planet had been infected by Inguat, and running down the hallway was one of the largest Inguat Organic Tanks she had seen.  The tank had a unique proactive defensive mechanism that would stop anything with sufficient kinetic/chemical energy.  Fortunately for Wind she had packed four Metalic Helium Hydride rounds, each was capable of melting through almost any compound and was so rare that it was unlikely for the Tank's defenses to be programmed to stop the bullet, so long as it was lobbed softly enough.  Stellar Wind networked with her Ballista and started calibrating the on board magnetic accelerators, too much energy and the Tank's defenses would stop the round no matter what, too little energy and the bolt would be more likely to injure a squad mate.  Within two micro-seconds a range of options were considered.  Steady, aim, fire.  Before her conscious mind could process the sensation of firing Stellar Wind's Ballista let her know that she missed.  Round number two.  Steady, aim, fire. The Ballista releases another wave of electrical energy propelling the 40 mm diameter bolt to several hundred meters per second.  The second round nears its mark, proximity sensors begin to readjust the geometry of the bolt to ensure the acid can take advantage of its metallic state, tearing a tremendous hole into the central mass of the Tank.

(pretty bad eh, I am rather sleepy)  

Molecular Gastronomy Gets a Little Bit Cooler

Cold inspires, cold creates, and eventually cold will end the universe.  (not really, but I wasn't sure how I wanted to introduce this idea, consequently weird segues may abound, oh wait better intro, straight forward honest, but I like this part, so I'm leaving it in, take that coherent writing narratives) 

3-D printing and molecular gastronomy* are culinary matches made in heaven.  Inventors, chefs, and inventive chefs, are creating technologies and techniques that make you wonder what can't be made into food.  While food and drink recipes are moving into the future, culinary ice has only changed at a relatively glacial pace (pun very much intended).  

Ice does not need remain to relegated to simply cooling a food item, with 3-D printing, smart chemistry, and a chef's ingenuity ice can do so much more for a drink.  Currently when a drink is ordered at a bar, the bartender can only choose from varying sizes of ice cube, the differences in the shape and size of the ice cubes will alter the rate of melting within the clients drink.  Over time the melting ice will slowly water down the drink, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, many hard liquors are ordered on the rocks, to expressly have the water change the flavor profile of the drink over time.  What if the drink wasn't simply being watered down, but as the ice melted other flavor elements were added to the drink, transforming the relatively static drink into something dynamic.  Early generations of this technology would most likely be added to more rudimentary cocktails, where your margarita would intermittently add hints of lime.  Future innovators/bar owners hoping to maximize the premium on their drinks would allow guests to custom order specialized 4-D ice that matched their pallete, body temperature, and uhhhhh.. pheromones (?) (the last one is an idea for marketing BS not actually grounded in any real thought).  

The year is 2030 and Snowflake and his friends are out to celebrate his acceptance into the AI digitization and upload program, to celebrate they decide to get the most expensive drink on the menu, "Snowflake's Dream".  The title of the drink is based off of the overly invasive club's computer system data mining all of Snowflake's data on social media, as well as bio-metric data gleaned from the building's security system.  It turns out the programmers were lazy and simply coded the AI to simply make the title of the drink the name of the patron followed by the word dream.  While unimaginative on the menu's naming system the programmers did an amazing job on the drink design software.  Noting how long Snowflake generally takes to drink various types of drinks, what flavors he finds interesting and complimentary, the AI concocts a drink and ice cube that will perfectly match his desire for a social drink that takes 27 min+/- 4 min to finish.  When Snowflake's drink arrives, his friends cheer his achievement and he takes his first sip, the best cocktail he's ever had, 29 minutes later, the profile of the drink has changed, subtly and deliciously, and Snowflake is ready to order another.

The inspiration for this idea stems from a Wired magazine article which you can find here.  

*read people taking overly complex cooking techniques to levels that would look appropriate on the set of Star Trek 

Man it's been awhile since I wrote a post, damn ADHD/lack of external motivators,  a few things.

1. Using 3-D printers was more for hype than actually being the only way to add flavor to a drink dynamically, in theory a smart glass with small fluid reservoirs would be cheaper, but that didn't sound as cool.

2.  saying the guy was going to become an uploaded in the year 2030 was arbitrary, I  have no real sense of timescale on that, my money is on after this date, but I had already chosen the year and when I came up with what they were celebrating a 21st birthday seemed lame and I was already typing and that was the idea that came tome.

3. from an actual manufacturing standpoint printing like this would be incredibly complex, according to the wired article just using normal water ice, the chamber needed to operated at minus 8 degrees ( I assume Fahrenheit), for additives like sugar water, salt, or whatever inventors might end up using, the cold temperature might not be enough, to be truly effective the machine would need to provide a non-flavored surface coating to minimize cross contamination.  This would make it all very complex.

4.  the cost benefit on an idea like this is incredibly dubious, I am aware of that, there is a reason why this is on a damn design blog.

I hope you all enjoyed. 

Let us Segue the Conversation to the Segway

It has been far too many moons since this nerd has properly updated "My Cognitive Surplus" and so I am now spending a few minutes writing up an idea I've had for awhile relating to additional uses for Segway scooters.

Garbage Pick-Up:  Taking the trash out is such a hassle, why should I have to remember when to take out the trash?  (Yes I know this is more a solving of first world problems)
The body of the segway scooter serves as a fantastic platform for a semi-autonomous delivery platform, by replacing the standing area of the scooter with container storage and a sensing node, the scooter should be able to transport roughly 100 lbs of materials from point A to point B with little oversight.  Instead of physically lugging your garbage-can to the street corner the night before/the morning of garbage pick up, your smart garbage-can could wander its way to a central pick up storage location.  The advantage of this approach is one of fuel use, whenever a vehicle has to stop and start it wastes a tremendous amount of energy, larger garbage trucks have a lot of mass that needs to be accelerated the less frequently they have to stop the less energy the need to operate.  The smaller smart garbage-cans waste less energy per stop and have the advantage of being fully electric, meaning they can use a home's energy supply, the central storage location could even use a solar canopy to charge the smart cans.

Developments of the future could design homes and businesses with a standardized garbage pick up modules, allowing said locations to share a minimal number of smart carriers.

Another use of this technology would be home delivery assistance, as the smart carrier technology became more accepted businesses could start to utilize the standard container dimensions, instead of Amazon using drone air-craft for deliveries, they could use the smart-segways.  There would certainly be trade-offs with respect to getting from point A to point B, you would be limited to two dimensions of motion.  The benefit of using a ground based semi-autonomous transport system come from safety and mass of cargo, a drone would need to be limited to a relatively small amount of mass, but a ground carrier would be able to carry far more mass for a given amount of energy.  If firms are willing to deliver at night, swarms of these small delivery systems could offset a large volume urban deliveries.