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TITLE: The Solar Decathlon Project, Team North, SIAT Division
MENTOR:
Milena Droumeva
MENTOR contact:
http://www.solardecathlon.org/
there is a wiki for which you would likely be given logins and access
OVERVIEW:
The Solar Decathlon is a competition in which 20 teams of college and university students compete to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house. The Solar Decathlon is also an event to which the public is invited to observe the powerful combination of solar energy, energy efficiency, and the best in home design.
The event takes place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., October 12 - 20. The team houses are open for touring everyday, except Wednesday, October 17, when they will close for competition purposes. An overall winner is announced on Friday, October 19 at 2 p.m. See the schedule for more information.
Teams of college students design a solar house, knowing from the outset that it must be powered entirely by the sun. In a quest to stretch every last watt of electricity that's generated by the solar panels on their roofs, the students absorb the lesson that energy is a precious commodity. They strive to innovate, using high-tech materials and design elements in ingenious ways. Along the way, the students learn how to raise funds and communicate about team activities. They collect supplies and talk to contractors. They build their solar houses, learning as they go.
PROJECT or Industry Area GOALS:
SFU is one of the three participating universities in Team North – competing for the 2009 showing of our North House. SIAT specifically is in charge of developing a multi-modal interactive system for the house itself, providing ambient as well as local information about energy storage and usage, and fostering sustainable living practices in the house. SIAT also manages the communication and business plans for the project including a persona development area. Recently, BC Hydro has joined the project as an industry partner to several MITACS positions. As part of their Power Smart and 2010 Olympic initiatives, BC Hydro has teamed up with the Simon Fraser University (“Team North”) to undertake research leading to the design and construction of a solar powered home for the Solar Decathlon and future initiatives on solar power and energy conservation in the residential sector.
The active areas in the project include visual, haptic and auditory interaction models for informative feedback. Both organic (physical computing, mechanical or otherwise low-tech options) and powered (requiring computation, input and output devices) options may be explored and considered here.
DELIVERABLES:
- Background research of ambient auditory, visual and haptic information systems
- Brainstorming and prototyping low-tech and hi-tech display systems
- Developing a finalized prototype
- Testing and evaluation
ANY SPECIAL SKILLS REQUIRED:
Ideally, interested students will have the willingness to work/learn together, an experience in physical computing, programming in prototyping languages, but utmost, ingenuity and creativity. As my specialty is auditory feedback I would love to mentor and get help with designing, brainstorming and evaluating several sound display prototypes – thus someone with an interest and experience in sound design would be great. As well, since another large part of the project will be haptic displays, someone with experience in physical prototyping will be highly useful to the whole Solar Decathlon team.
- Creative thinking
- Low and hi-tech prototyping
- Sound design and interest in auditory feedback
- Physical computing experience
- Some programming and Arduino skills, willingness to learn
RESOURCES:
Look at this example for an idea as to the state of interactive displays for sustainability
http://www.thegreenergrass.org/2008/02/concept-current-state.html