Ferrofluid ( and lots of failures)

Melany attempted to make an electromagnet that used ferrofluise as the core.They didn't spike the way we wanted them to, but it did make a bump.

I was able to wrap an electromagnet using enameled copper wire, that spiked the way we wanted. The spikes aren't on as large of a scale as we would like them to be, but this is the first successful electromagnet we have made so far.

Building the first of three boxes for the final

Rhino model of what we imagine our final to look like. We planned to have three separate boxes that would serve as "aquariums" with electromagnets in each of them that would respond to different stimuli ( sound, vibration, and light).

Our crit for this idea did not go well. It was suggested that we CNC route the boxes instead of hand cutting them. The boxes are too tall and use a lot of material. We are thinking about going back to our original idea of having a horizontal surface ( a table), instead of the three boxes we were planning on.

Working Module ( finally)

For this week, we were required to have a working module of our final project to present to various professors and a visiting artist from Berlin. The module is an array of electromagnets and photoresistors , which allowed the electromagnets to turn on in response to changes in light. The electromagnets were constructed out of lag bolts and enameled wire that Keegan took from transformers.

We received positive feedback from most of the professors and visitors. They seemed to like our idea of the predator and prey relationships of garden eels we were trying to mimic ( the garden eels would be the electromagnets, while the people interacting with the module would be the predators).

During our presentation, we mentioned trying out different shaped magnets and seeing how the ferrofluid reacts with then. Max suggested using just the enameled wire in the ferrofluid and seeing what sorts of reactions we get. Right now we are using a lot of energy to power just a small module.

Ferrofluid

Some pictures of us playing with the ferrofluid last week:

Final Project Movement Mechanisms

After our last critique, it seemed like we were all on board with the general idea of mimicking the shoaling of fish. To move forward with this idea, we had to figure out the movement mechanisms that would allow for us to achieve the effect we were going for.

None of these mechanisms ended up working. So we decided to move forward with Ferrofluid ( something we had tested during this week out of curiosity).

Idea Generation/ Brainstorming

After an extremely long meeting which consisted of each person discussing their different bioinspirations and how their projects could take form, we came up with a list of about 17 different ideas. The process of narrowing down was done by everyone re-explaining their ideas and then by voting. We rediscussed the ideas that got the majority of the votes, and narrowed it down to two ideas :

1. Carlo's idea of having a wall stacked shapes that would respond to some sort stimuli and make noise when they moved.

2. a collection of surfaces that mimic a shoal of fish

We decided to move forward with the shoal of fish idea, especially because it had more of a biomimetic story behind it

Final Project Design Process/ Brainstorming

I was pretty excited to hear that the final project will be open-ended. Our past mini-projects have been more about the mechanics and arduino, and less about the biomimcry ( which is what I was most looking forward to). We usually thought about the design first, and came up with the biomimicry during the process, which was also usually designated by the project constraints.

When doing our " team designing", we had to come up with individual goals. One of mine was that I wanted the biomimcry to be an important aspect of the design and be reflected in the design, not just be some sort of explanation after.

Our first brainstorming session consisted of everyone coming up with different bioinspirations and possible designs that could fit with them.

Pictures of Final Iteration of Solar Tracker

2 axis biomimetic solar tracker: final iteration

First design rendered in Digital project. It is a pulley system that would be fixed to a lazy susan.

Final Idea. It is a sphere pinned to the lazy susan, the track is on the dome, and runs along a gear. This allows for control of the movement.

The light sensors are on the inside of the sphere. We drilled a pinhole into the top of the sphere to allow the light to come through ( like the eye that was the inspiration. The light is focused onto a single point. The light sensors would be the cones and the wires could be seen as the optic nerves).

After our critique last week, our professors told us to focus more on the mechanics of the solar dome, and focus on getting it to work instead of thinking of a larger setting the trackers could fit into.

Week 4: 2 axis solar tracker ( first iteration)

For our design this week, we have decided to create a glass solar dome/ installation that would act as a lens, and focus light towards solar cells, allowing for the light to be concentrated. The solar panel would be located on a solar tracking device, to take into account the movement of the sun throughout the day. The mechanics behind this would involve placing photoresistors under a pinhole in the solar panel, when the solar panel would be receiving the most energy, the photovoltaics would line up with the resistor, and the movement would stop.

These are some images Carlo created in Rhino to get an idea of what the domes would look like in an array.

Still image of solar tracker movement created in Digital Project.

These two images were digitally rendered to get an idea of what the glass domes would look like in a building, and what size/scale they would be in relation to people.

Week 4: 2 axis solar tracker biomimicry/inspiration

For this project, our assignment is to create a 2 axis solar tracking biomimetic surface. For the biomimicry/ bioinspiration, we are looking at the window plant and the human eye. According the the AskNature website, window plants enhance photosynthesis by filtering sunlight through their flat tips down towards oxalic acid crystals at the base of the plant, where photosynthesis takes place. The eye focuses also focuses light to a single point, for the purpose of vision. In both cases, light is directed to a specific point.