Jan 2016
The Brief: Leverage the power of IoT to help solve California’s ongoing drought.
A Solution: Our solution aims to identify stretches along the aqueduct system that are most vulnerable to evaporation. This will be done by measuring real-time data of the various parameters that cause evaporation, via small devices floating on the canal itself.
After collecting and mapping this information, cost effective solutions like solar panel bridges or wind barriers can be strategically placed to bandage the most vulnerable parts of the aqueduct during
different times of the year.
As the drought in California continues into its 4th year drastic efforts have to be made to solve the crisis. It is estimated there is a loss of 9300 acre-feet of water per day simply through evaporation in the California State Water Project’s aqueducts.
In essence, Eva is a small solar-powered floating hydrology and meteorology lab. She is equipped to measure water temperature, dry bulb and wet bulb air temperature, pressure, relative humidity, irradiance, wind speed, wind direction and the certain chemical attributes of the water. These factors are used to calculate precise, instantaneous and localized values of evaporation.
Though Eva’s conception was inspired by the drought in California, her applications are global.
An exploration of form and texture in glazed Stoneware.
This is a project was done with a student as part of a class that I conducted which dealt with the principles of FDM 3D Printing.
This project was an exploration in functional 3D Printing to design an object keeping in mind the limitations of the medium. Some basic ergonomic studies were conducted to finalise the frame dimensions, next the joints were modeled in Autodesk Fusion 360. Following this the parts were then printed with a homebuilt RepRap printer. Thick PVC pipes were used to create the frame.
Arduino based midi instrument
Dec 2014
The laser harp is an electronic instrument, unlike a traditional harp with metal strings this harp has strings of light. It also does not have a frame: its laser strings stretch out infinitely into space.
Each beam represents a MIDI note. As your hand cuts a beam, the note is played.
Since this harp has no frame, identifying which beam was cut without the use of expensive technologies like Web cams or Kinects becomes an interesting problem as you can’t simply place a sensor array at the ends of the beams.
How the beams are created:
A laser beam is directed to a mirror on the motor. With every step the motor takes, the position of the mirror changes, deflecting the beam in a different direction every time. The steps take place fast enough for the beams to appear as if they are simultaneously present.
How the harp knows which beam has been cut:
Every beam has a corresponding motor position. When a beam is cut, the sensor detects an increase in light intensity. The Arduino then looks for the position of the motor at that instant, and thus identifies the beam in question.
Turned on a lathe using a dual shaft.
Variations on the symbol of the Sri Aurobindo International Center of Education to be printed on T-shirts.
