DesignAndHarvestingConclusions

Intro

This research covered many aspects of Design in relation to Energy Harvesting. The idea that products, fashion architecture becomes independent of external energy is very attractive. In a layered structure of energy harvesting it should become realizable in the future. With layered structure is meant a combination of sources (wind, solar etc) and storage, from very small to local scale. Added to this should be a careful choice of interactivity and availability of the behavior.

Bachelor

The research question was to investigate if some notion of energy harvesting is important for students of the WdKA. In practice the demands in the last year of the study from the domain of specialisation (eg product design, spatial design, fashion) are already very high. The graduation projects are becoming more and more interactive, which means energy and electricity is needed. Normally either the mains (220V) or batteries are used. If "saving energy" is not a main topic of the graduation proposal, making the final design independent of external energy by energy harvesting is an added demand.
Sometimes it is possible to make use of energy harvesting, but for most projects this would mean an enormous complication of the final project in technical aspects, which are not the prime focus of the WdKA design studies.

Comparison with MA projects

Comparing the WdKA bachelor project with MA projects presented at DDW2014, like Solly of Roes, or the Nightlight of ... it can be perceived that even for MA students energy harvesting in all it's technical implications is a difficult added aspect. Solly for example is not optimized in using energy, while paradoxically it will promote energy harvesting. In a conversation with the designer Roes he acknowlegded this weakness but told me he will ask a technical expert for this. Even his MA level does not imply mastering even simple energy optimalization techniques.

Possiblities

Given this complex situation there are WdKA students who are conceptualizing ideas which involve energy harvesting. An example are the minor and the graduation projects of Otske Penin. In the minor she envisioned a bicycle which generates energy for a WIFI connection. In her graduation project she employed different sources of energy for independency of a squqre around a swimming pool in the city.

Applications of the artistic research results

In some student projects the use o the Ljusa kit was contemplated, in one project it was actually used. The Victory over the Sun has been displayed in Bremen at the Hochschule für Künste Bremen and will be displayed at the e-textile summercamp 2015 at Paillard. This artistic research result is too complex for the average student but interesting for it's internal diversity and application of different techniques.
The Flash-Knit swatch will be part of the Swatchbook 2015
These results will have its effects, but it will be limited and energy harvesting will certainly not be applied in a majority of bachalor projects.

Energy Harvesting Introductory Course

As a part of this research an introductory course was developed and tested.
Due to circumstances the number of students attending the course was low. On the other hand, the communication failed, later on students told me they had been interested.
As a part of a yearly curriculum and the minor sustainability, this introductory course will be useful.

An alternative approach: Making a 12V wind turbine

A specific approach to the subject of energy harvesting was taken by the teacher Paul Cox. He constructed a sturdy wind generator totally DIY. His approach is hands-on and his course consists of making this 12V wind turbine in all its components. A lot of experience is gained in building and making the parts yourself.

In this study the application of energy harvesting was combined with last year projects and a lot of background information. In this perspective energy harvesting becomes an extra challenge on top of the final year projects. But building a wind turbine in one course (three months, 10 weeks, weekly lesson) is possible. The subject of energy harvesting is isolated and reduced to one application (wind) and the main focus is on building it totally yourself (DIY).

Application of the Ljusa kit

Hacking the Ljusa was done by three students, two attendees of the introductory course. One graduation student applied the Ljusa hack in her final project - Otske Pennin.

......(work in progress)