Group068-03: Solar Responsive Windows

Goal: Order Majority of Materials and Write Skeleton of Code One of the main goals for this week was to order the majority of the materials needed to create this product. The two things that purchased were the Solar Panel Cell Kit as well as the LED light strips. It is estimated that these items should arrive within the next week.  Once the group gains possession of the items ordered, the building process will be able to begin.  The second main goal for this week was to gain a better understanding of the Arduino Software and create a base code to operate the system. The Arduino chip is a necessity for this project because it is an intermediate step between the motor and the window. Without it, there would be no way for the the two objects to communicate to one another, resulting in an unusable system. Figure 1, which is pictured below, displays an image of the Arduino itself along with the other parts included in the kit. Figure 1: Image of a Basic Arduino Chip ...

Goal: Solidify Project Concept and Complete Research This week, the group finished finalizing a concept for this project. The main concept of the project, which is the solar responsive windows, remained the same with a few minor alterations. The first of the two changes made was that these windows will be used for a single story greenhouse/nursery rather than a building with multiple stories. The reason behind this being that if these were to operate on a multiple story building, the windows on the upper levels would block some of the sun from reaching the windows below. Therefore, the group decided to used them for a single story building so this issue would not be encountered. The second alteration made to this project was the type of lighting that would be powered. In the initial draft, LED lights were to line the inside of the window and turn on at night. Now, rather than power LED lights, the solar energy collected will power lights that increase plant growth.  ...

Goal: To form a group and brainstorm ideas for this project During the final hour or so of the lab, the group began to brainstorm ideas. We wanted this project to encompass a small piece of each group member's major (Biomedical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Architectural Engineering) and with some guidance from Dr. Ellis, we decided to create a solar responsive window. This outermost layer of the window will move throughout the day, maximizing the energy it gains from the sun. This energy will then be used to power LED lights on the inside of the window frame during the night. Throughout this week, our group also strived to learn more about the fundamental aspects of this project. Seeing as no group members previously had a large amount of knowledge in regards to solar cells and LED lighting, this was deemed as an essential step in the design process. Additionally the group met for two hours to solidify the goal of the project as well as continue research. We are all v...