presentation plans

The final presentation is in less than a week. I've been thinking about it for a few days now, and it's strange how much it baffles me on how to present everything I've learned in only ten minutes. Not only that, but I have no idea where to start. It's been such a long eight months! I made a linear 'speech structure' but I can't figure out if one should start their presentation with the final result and work backwards, or start from the beginning and then show the final result. The work is not linear, A did not lead to B, necessarily, so I re-did my plans and made a bubble instead. I wonder if I can present in a non-linear way and people will still understand me...

fix

It's allmostttttttt working!

Informal mid-crit review

This was an informal midcrit review, but because I felt like my project was on fire (not in a motivational way) I decided to prepare slides in order to clearly show:
1. Concept validation, and 2. My plan, and 3. My goal

Since we are leaving together to Uganda quite soon, I really wanted to make sure everybody (ie. profs and advisors) was on board with the idea, and my choices.

Shelling

Been looking at maize shellers because it's part of the process before one can put maize into the mill. (Taking kernels off the cob).

The maize process goes something like this:

Sometimes, husking and shelling is done at the machine as well, depending on the quality of flour needed.

    Here's some basic 'ancient' technology on shelling and husking:

The three shellers in the image above:
Corn sheller wtih an engine, http://www.old-engine.com/keystone.htm
Patented sheller, 1877: http://www.americanartifacts.com/smma/sheller/goddard.htm
Common cast iron sheller, http://www.strombergschickens.com/product/hand-crank-corn-sheller/feed-mills


Extras:
Corn shelling in action: http://youtu.be/z6iXViuw24o
A cool and inspirational sheller by GCS: https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=10150323945951671

ChocoSol

I came across a place in Toronto called ChocoSol that was said to have a 'bicycle machine' and use them to grind chocolate in Oaxaca, Mexico. Although they used to use these machines when they started the business, the volume has grown so much so that they use electric machines to husk and grind cocoa beans now and use the bicycle for demo purposes only. Nevertheless, it was still a learning opportunity and a chance to see a working bicycle machine.

Electric assist

Grinding by hand

Tension adjustment and leather chain

vaccuum pipe filled with cement as a flywheel

bolted in

For the record, the chocolate is really tasty.

Disability around the World infographic

That's today!
click to see the full poster here.
section of infographic from CMB Australia, cbm.org.au, 2010-2011

Tricycle features and links

This is just a collection of research on certain interesting features on tricycle wheelchairs seen on youtube and etc. A lot of which has influenced and fueled inspiration for the project. Enjoy.


TRICYCLES

Leveraged Freedom Chair v1, lever powered wheelchair on tarmac and off road:
http://gogrit.org/lfc/

Whirlwind Rough Rider, $799
http://whirlwindwheelchair.squarespace.com/roughrider/

Kien Tuong Tricycle Wheelchair, Three wheel foldable tricycle:
http://www.kientuong.net/Pages/3Wheeloutdoorchair.aspx

Motivation tricycle, 135 GBP, hand powered and good for long distances:
http://www.motivation.org.uk/our-products/tricycles/

Three Wheeled outdoor / spike chair, 12kg, pigging, for sports:
http://www.handinor.no/index.php/3-hjuls-piggestol

Mountaintrike, Small radius, adjustable:
http://www.flo-design.nl/mountaintrike.html

Free Wheelchair Mission Gen 1, simple construction, $71.88:
http://www.freewheelchairmission.org

Free Wheelchair Mission Gen 2, adjustable:
https://vimeo.com/fwm

Hand bike ride, Adaptive Cycling, Tricycle for paraplegic wheelchair user:
http://youtu.be/Uth_n8QZxZ0

TEAM HYBRID HANDCYCLES, Hand cycle:
http://youtu.be/xNYMe3DeTfI

TRUmobility - Assistive Mobility devices for the disabled:

http://10000solutions.org/solution/assistive-mobility-devices-disabled-developing-countries

FEATURES
Fietsen met benen en armen (1942) Hand propulsion system:
http://youtu.be/QRS5rKhNHSk

Assistive Technologies OBOW II, open sourced, modular:
https://vimeo.com/37032126

Assistive Technologies at maker-faire:
http://youtu.be/e0txmOLieac

DIY Assistive Technologies, one arm drive attachment, $35:
http://youtu.be/fP2gt5bOcBI

DIY Assistive Technologies - Mini Handychair, small turning radius, good for transfer:
http://youtu.be/HinhllYjBOE

DIY Assistive Technologies - Garden Off Road, Wheelchair steering by hand or pole:
http://youtu.be/uZAKbO6iSkc

DIY Assistive Technologies - Beach Handychair, Wheelbarrow-esque:
http://youtu.be/F6W3UIKG7IQ

DIY Assistive Technologies - Wooden Handychair, Outside simple gardening @5:13:
http://youtu.be/D4ou4LIQ3VA

DIY Assistive Technologies - Tracktor, uses two bicycles, @0:30:
http://youtu.be/dT141PxU8eo

Electric bike adaption for wheel chair, turns standard trike into an electric one:
http://youtu.be/JikRgENekuw

Handbike for wheelchair user, Rio Dragonfly:
http://youtu.be/h4I4UUMgsks

Wheelchairs for developing countries:
http://youtu.be/oJMg8J_E4fc

Cargobikes, Mobility for Good:
http://worldbike.org/our-work-two

ACE, The tennis wheelchair for developing countries:
http://youtu.be/nGxh-q_k-j4

Wheelchairs For Kids, $125, donated:
http://www.wheelchairsforkids.org/videos/model09.html

DIY-AT, Wooden Handychair - water bottle upholstery @4:30:
http://youtu.be/fP2gt5bOcBI

Skywheel - Rainbow H, single hand or body steer:
http://www.skywheel.kr/

Da Vinci Handcycle, manual wheelchair attachment:
http://www.davincimobility.com/

Sunrise Runner, attachable to any wheelchair:
http://bit.ly/SZ140h

Rehatri 24, £790.00 pedal back brake:
http://www.missioncycles.co.uk/disabled_cycling.asp

One-Off Handcycle, DC model, made from local parts:
www.oneoffhandcycle.com

The XLT, 15deg camber for stability, and seatbelt.. £1899:
http://www.allabilitycycling.com/handcycles.aspx

Figure 8 drive:
http://web.mit.edu/mbollini/www/tricycle/Concept.html



PEDAL POWER
Spin cycle: pedal powered bicycle machine
http://bit.ly/WnK7lN

“Bicimaquinas” (pedal-powered machines) bicycles into machines:
http://www.mayapedal.org/

Pedal powered farms
http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2011/05/pedal-powered-farms-and-factories.html

Cycle cinema:
http://www.magnificentrevolution.org/

Seed cleaner
http://bit.ly/XHSIfV

Global cycle solutions, sheller kit:
http://gcstz.com/products

Fully Belly project, nut sheller:
http://www.thefullbellyproject.org/Products/UniversalNutSheller.aspx

Standard bicycle with pedal power attachment:
http://www.technologyforthepoor.com/PedalPowerReport/PedalPowerReport.htm

Make electricity while you exercise:
http://bit.ly/11Zz4mH



DOCUMENTS/ PROJECTS
Provision and Sourcing of Manual Wheelchairs:
http://www.streetsie.com/provision-manual-wheelchairs/

Design with the other 90%:
http://designother90.org/

Nothing About Us, Without Us:
http://www.dinf.ne.jp/doc/english/global/david/dwe001/dwe00141.html

Bicycles and Tricyles, an elementary treatise on their design and construction, 1986:
http://bit.ly/d7LKjG

GhanaMoves project, Sander Projects:
http://ghanamoves.weblog.nl/
http://ghanamoves2007.weblog.nl/
http://www.sanderprojects.com/

Design activism agendas

P1 research: Design a small mobile low voltage light

There are 8 topics: Major retail, Industrial products and trades, Innovation, Ethical opportunities, Battery technology, Bulbs, Alternative energy, and Construction and mechanical construction. My group was placed in the Innovation category.

So, what breeds innovation?
Here, looking at what's already been done, people pushing boundaries and the potential with new materials and technologies, there's so many exciting possibilities for concept development! One possible objective was making a light that was dark sky friendly. Something that won't create light pollution and be too harsh, but it would be enough to be usable and at the same time not just for dim ambient purposes.

I also really enjoyed discovering the Solskin, designed by Hrafnkell Birgisson. It involves an old icelandic folk tale as the inspiration for the product. I love stories!

Is this process effective?

We are such visual learners, we learn first with our eyes and making mental patterns, and second we learn with our hands. Sometimes, it's the other way around. Anyway, as simple as it may seem to categorize information who are we to judge what belong where. Sometimes we disagree, but in the end, the product still ends up somewhere on the board under some category. Which are our core values? What are the constraints we want to keep and which ones can we be flexible with? Is this helping us build better connections? This map got wiped out and redone at least four times. I'm not sure if we agreed on every iteration, but maybe it was the process of experimenting with different categories and rearranging them to understand them in other contexts were we able to make the clutter more understandable for us and others.