OpenLH
Company miLab
Introduction Date March 1, 2018
Project Website http://milab.idc.ac.il/teaching/projects/openlh/
Why is this project worthy of an award?
OpenLH is an open-source system, designed to democratize biology work process for non-biologists. Designers, artists, entrepreneurs, bio-hackers and others, can experiment in liquid handling for molecular microbiology in an accurate, safe, flexible, automated and affordable way. OpenLH is a liquid handler made of a commercially available robotic arm (uArm Swift Pro), a modified pipette and a syringe pump assembled together with 3D printed parts, and a simple user interface. This makes it the most accessible and affordable tool for bioprinting and liquid handling available to date, capable of accuracy comparable to high-end industry tools, yet open to the public in under 1,000$. In recent years, biological research has advanced in several aspects including synthetic biology, streamlining of DNA sequencing, and synthesizing and the emergence of new tools such as CRISPR\CAS for gene editing. These advances also include the introduction of new class of tools that bring biological technologies out of research labs and to the general public. The next wave of the democratization of lab technologies has the potential to reach new audiences, empowering them to innovate using biological tools. With OpenLH we aspire to promote the new generation of tools needs for this revolution. We imagine a process similar to what we have sean in previous technological shifting from high-end industry to the general public, such as are CNC milling and 3D printing for distributed production and the Arduino revolution that democratized electronic prototyping.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
Liquid handling is one of the most basic operations in biology experiments. Transferring measured volumes of liquid (0.1-1000 microliter) while maintaining sterile conditions, in domains such as microbiology, genetics, protein engineering, and diagnostics, is the most basic and common technique. It is usually performed by skilled biologists, either by hand or, in some advanced labs, by high-end automated tools that require technicians to operate. OpenLH has two user friendly interfaces - a block based, visual user interface and a "print" interface. The first is a drag and drop command tool that enables open experimentation, based on Google's Blockly. The second enables taking images made in standard image editing tools and printing them in biologic material. We demonstrated our tool with non-biologists use cases such as a hobbyist beer brewer improving his brew by counting colony forming units of yeast. Or allowing a graphic designer to experiment with designing using living materials. Designs that starts from being invisible, grow and die. It can also be used for anything from creative cooking processes to complex tissue printing such as skin, muscles and in-vitro meat. As an open product produced in a non-commercial research lab, our hope is that OpenLH will be used by as many people as possible for creating things we did not imagine yet.
Who worked on the project?
Gilad Gome, Andrey Grishko, Iddo Wald, Julian Waksberg, Oren Zuckerman
View the project video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf7sTYDFe9w&index=1&list=PL3SEr1QaZ2DwTbIPVkW_pHpHaxxzNK452
Orchestrated Energy
Company Tendril
Introduction Date May 1, 2016
Project Website https://www.tendrilinc.com/solutions/solutions-for-utilities-and-retailers/orchestrated-energy
Why is this project worthy of an award?
Orchestrated Energy helps homeowners significantly lessen their carbon footprint by doubling the energy efficiency of their smart thermostats. Orchestrated Energy is a software platform that can create a unique and personalized energy optimization plan for every home, every day based on building characteristics, local weather patterns, system conditions, and individual needs of the consumer. By incorporating more than 300 data points, Orchestrated Energy makes a smart thermostat truly intelligent because it doesn’t rely alone on learning the behavior of homeowners. By using multiple sources of weather data, Orchestrated Energy can create significant energy savings to pre-cool the house before temperatures are at their peak. It utilizes the thermal envelope of the house to store energy and turn the house into a virtual battery allowing the system to slowly release cool energy over time. Tendril’s Orchestrated Energy is more than theoretical, it has proven results from piloting the technology with three select utilities including AEP and Xcel Energy to customers in 15 states. It delivered an additional 14% of HVAC (air conditioner) energy efficiency savings on top of the 10% of savings already provided by a smart thermostat. If every home in America with a smart thermostat ran Orchestrated Energy, it would save enough energy every year to take a coal-fired power plant offline. While the energy savings of Orchestrated Energy are impressive, it also takes into account that humans are creatures of comfort, and won’t forsake comfort for planetary benefit. Customers set their basic temperature preferences and Orchestrated Energy learns additional patterns and tendencies. It then optimizes around the needs of the electric grid, but without ever violating the customer's desired comfort band. During the trials this past summer, utilities actually saw a 33% decrease in the number of times a customer adjusted their thermostat proving Orchestrated Energy can be effective without ceding comfort. Traditionally, utilities have periods known as peak demand where the electric grid is maxed out and must deploy peaker plants to meet the demand from residents and businesses needing electricity. These plants are powered by dirtier and more expensive energy sources, and utilities must build the infrastructure to meet this demand. Utilities then often turn to demand response and look to work with users to curtail energy during these peak times. In the past, demand response meant utilities were turning off air conditioners during the hottest times of the summer. Orchestrated Energy was designed to take the pressure off of the electric grid during these peak periods while ensuring customers never sweat. While smart thermostats work as individual units, Orchestrated Energy is designed so utilities can use them in concert creating a dispatchable energy source. Early results have shown that Orchestrated Energy can reduce 85% of the HVAC load during the times utilities need to significantly curtail usage. Orchestrated Energy is a secret weapon for utilities wanting happy customers who use less electricity.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
The average customer only spends 8 minutes a year interacting digitally with their utility according to Accenture. Recognizing this, the architect of Orchestrated Energy knew it would have to work in the background to be successful and not require meaningful action from the customer. To work behind the scenes, Orchestrated Energy utilized homeowners temperature bands, a multi-degree delta where customers remain comfortable but still provides a lot of flexibility to utilities when managing the grid. If a resident decides Orchestrated Energy has strayed out of its comfort band, they can change the temperature and Orchestrated Energy employs machine learning to further understand temperature preferences. However, Tendril also needed to ensure customers were informed since traditional demand response programs can leave customers wondering if their air conditioner isn’t working properly. To that end, Tendril created it’s standalone iPhone app, MyHome, as an easy way for utilities to keep customers informed and provide personalized content. As Tendril begins pre-cooling a house, it sends a push message to the homeowner via MyHome so they’re always in the know and empowered, but also requiring no action from the customer. Orchestrated Energy was also designed to be future proof meaning that while Orchestrated Energy has already deployed technology around smart thermostats, future planned iterations include heating, water heaters, residential batteries and electric cars. All of these devices in the home create an extraordinary amount of flexible electricity load that can be shifted with little to no inconvenience to the homeowner all while creating substantial energy savings. And while Orchestrated Energy is designed to work with an energy signal from a utility, in the future it could work with a carbon signal so it would help utilities minimize carbon emissions. Ultimately, Tendril drew upon its 13 years of experience at the intersection of energy consumption and data to create a program that can model the energy usage of any single family home in the country. This complex modeling requires an understanding of the applied physics of the hundreds of thousands types of home models that exist in the United States. It also requires an understanding of the myriad of temperature preferences for homeowners e.g. people prefer different temperatures at dinner time vs bedtime. The underlying science behind Orchestrated Energy is a triumph in physics, behavioral energy and grid edge technology.
Who worked on the project?
Marissa Hummon, Casey Anderson, Sam Shrank, Sarah Babetski, Emilie Stone, Taylor Names, Mike Weadley, Aaron Rich, Eric Martin, Jake Meier, Jess Melanson
View the project video: https://www.tendrilinc.com/solutions/solutions-for-utilities-and-retailers/orchestrated-energy
Pick-N-Learn
Why is this project worthy of an award?
“America's Decline in Math and Science.” “America Desperately Needs STEM Students.” “Why Do Many Minorities Avoid Science?” “We need more STEM women.” Those are a sample of real news articles from the past year. You may be surprised by these headlines, or even more surprised that 19 percent of adults cannot read a newspaper (NCES). This project, the Pick-N-Learn (PNL), targets these types of problems. There are a lot of arrows in our quiver. We are here for a more creative, literate, and diverse future. We aren’t isolating science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) from art, philosophy, and other areas of learning. We are embracing that life is one big interconnected web, whether regarding us as people or to the process of learning. And, what communicates that better than stories? The telling of stories creates the real world (~Alberto Manguel). The Pick-N-Learn (PNL) project uses storytelling (books, graphic novels, short stories, audio) to engage learners. Our goal is interdisciplinary learning integrating and delivering activities, media, and curriculum through stories. Our graphics and characters engage learners, our stories contextualize and stimulate topics, and our model allows anything to be taught in an innovative and cohesive way. There is an emphasis on science and math, though no restriction to a subject. We create our own lessons though any curriculum or activity can be tied to and delivered through our model. There are vast amounts of curriculum, lessons, worksheets and other materials intended for public learning. Some old, some new, some great, some not. We give lessons and hands-on projects a new life. We give learners a chance to create, not just memorize, listen or repeat. We give educators a chance to tell a story rather than dictate a knowledge. Our stories are not overtly educational. They are a tool for engaging. The model allows educators to connect any topic to a story. The idea is simple enough. But, it contains a deceptive depth and potential. Consider a story in which Daniela tries to escape her captors and runs into a gate locked with an intricate knot. The wall has 2D knot designs etched into it and a 3D knot of rope as a lock. In this case, students can explore mythology (Gordian knot), math (Moebius Strip), art (Gossamer with a knot by Chelmonski), to tie useful knots, sculpt their own Celtic Knot, etc.. This is only a single scene. With a plot, layers of symbology, subtext, and other literary devices, we are here to enable an unbounded way to teach and learn. You can Pick stories, characters, themes, and Learn. The model is designed to have layers to learning that don’t exist in a traditional delivery method. Early piloting has shown increases in learner interest, time to complete learning exercises, improved children’s perception of reading, a better willingness to create stories and art, and other benefits. PNL operates for free to some of the most economically challenged and historically underrepresented populations. That’s our story.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
The idea of a story tied to a lesson in school is quite old. Storytelling itself is ancient and has been used for entertainment, cultural tradition and history, instilling morals, and education. In many school systems, you can find stories and they are usually of the sort “Jack has three apples and Sue has two,” though no one really cares. We are not here for those stories. The Pick-N-Learn (PNL) is here to provide engaging characters and stories that continue throughout a camp, program, or school term. We are here to promote interest, for the learner and the educator. From that interest will come greater creativity, improved learning and retention, and a connection and deeper context to what was learned. A unique aspect of this model is that it goes with any curriculum, lesson, or activity. If you don’t know how to connect it to our story, we will. Part of what makes this innovative is our team! We have artists that have worked on premier animation films, philosophers with PhDs, creative writers with a fetish for fantasy, former NASA engineer, and more in our motley assortment. That helps since our model ties any topic or subject to the story. Want to teach English (or Spanish), geometry, history, art? We can do it or train the educator to do it themselves. What if a teacher wants to teach Newton’s laws of motion but the current story scenes are largely involving water? We have you covered, Archimedes! Not only is he famously credited with figuring out how much gold was in the king’s crown using water, but he was tasked with building crazy war machines! One of those is what we know of as the catapult. (Enter lessons on forces and motion, hands-on activity building a catapult, art project, etc..) More on why we (and our grandmothers’) think we are special: PNL employs college students in the development and execution of the model. We have writing students drafting short stories, a computer science student working with a local small business to develop the website, an education student aiding in lesson creation and aligning national standards, and so on. Our model is enabling creativity and empowerment. We are pursuing the elusive win-win and it applies to grade school kids and educators, college students and businesses (or school districts), art and science, reading and writing, and on. So far we have produced better learning environments with engaging stories, college students that get jobs in education, and a base of stories and materials to support after-school programs, summer camps, and in-school teaching. We continue to work toward the day when an educator can visit our web portal, Pick a story (or a chapter), choose lessons or use their own, and enable their students to Learn in a unique and innovative way. We offer this free to challenge populations and schools. Check out our graphic novel, read a short story, sign up to get our book. We’re here for everyone.
Who worked on the project?
Nate V. Robinson - CEO. Juan Ferret - CIO. Shawn Gibson - Principal Artist. Wendy Garcia - Education Specialist, Susan Brown - Evaluation and Pedagogy
View the project video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUnx-3vdGNE
Pininfarina Forever Space
Company Pininfarina
Introduction Date July 3, 2017
Project Website http://www.pininfarinasegno.it/en/collection/space/
Why is this project worthy of an award?
The Pininfarina Space, the third in its series, is an aerodynamic stylus forged in magnesium, an ultra-light and unique material that offers high mechanical performance and low weight. Its tip is a metallic alloy called Ethergraf that scratches the common paper by oxidizing it and allows the user to write indefinitely, which means there’s no need for ink or refill cartridges. The mark the Space leaves behind is as soft as graphite but as indelible as ink.The Pininfarina Space’s materials and craftsmanship deemed it a perfect match as a writing instrument in microgravity environments such as those in the International Space Station (ISS). It also created no risks in leaving residues or generating dangerous sparks. The Space was thus donated to the astronauts aboard the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana’s (Italian Space Agency) last space expedition V.I.T.A., which is part of a strategic partnership with NASA. This expedition launched European Space Agency’s Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli to the International Space Station (I.S.S.) for 138 days, which saw the completion of over 60 experiments with the vital use of the Pininfarina Space.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
The Pininfarina Space’s unique usage is not limited to its environment. It’s use within the ISS makes it a very special writing product and unique in its kind. Its design is sleek, lightweight and timeless.
Who worked on the project?
Pininfarina and Davide Fabi, CEO of Signature SRL
View the project video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghYalM96IXg
Platform
Company MODU
Introduction Date September 1, 2017
Project Website https://moduarchitecture.com/Platform-Milan
Why is this project worthy of an award?
Rapid social change and technological advancements are transforming the way we work and learn; redefining roles and reshaping workspaces. Platform is a series of mini-buildings designed for the future: a prototype for revitalizing abandoned, or incomplete, urban structures. Its occupants interact, with minimal barriers, in an ever-changing environment that is part workshop seminar, part urban plaza, and part co-working office-- a new temperate urban space for learning skills and sharing knowledge. Platform transforms abandoned architecture that dots cities around the world. It does not attempt to “complete” these left-over structures; instead seeing them as opportunities to prompt a new beginning. This alternative future introduces adaptable mini-buildings within an open building, combining into a social place for learning and collaborating. Socially and thermally active spaces emerge from the mini-buildings— the Workshop Line, Learning Plaza, Tower of Air, Room of Doors and Multi-Stages — for both individual and group events. The Workshop Line houses open workspaces that can be used for work-- as design studios, incubators, or catering kitchens. In the past, workers would aspire to a corner office with a view. Instead, Platform offers them an exciting alternative: a view without corners. Occupants share knowledge across disciplines as they conduct workshops in the Learning Plaza. The Towers of Air occupies stairwell voids with suspended work areas for individuals, while the Room of Doors provides groups with “rooms” for collectivity. The Multi-Stages use convertible bleacher seating for larger assemblies, including lectures, casual talks, and lounging. The mini-buildings are heated and cooled with innovative sustainable technologies. In particular, the Towers of Air and Multi-Stages implement radiant furniture; instead of wasting energy by heating or cooling the air, the furniture directly warms or cools people when they sit upon it. The radiant furniture harnesses the renewable energy from solar hot water heaters. Thermally active surfaces—in the furniture or ceilings and floors-- are important to a new future for abandoned buildings. Since only the mini-buildings will be fully climatized, the open and abandoned structures will offer a range of thermal conditions, each with its own social collectivity. The mini-buildings of Platform catalyze the rich, thermally and socially dynamic potential of our cities’ abandoned buildings.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
Platform addresses an urban problem facing many contemporary cities today-- the abandoned, or incomplete structures, that dot cities around the world. In the wake of the global economic crisis, the question arises: what can be done about this urban phenomenon of abandoned and half-finished visions? In Italy alone, there are over six hundred incomplete structures, some of which have been vacant for nearly thirty years. From Rome to Milan to Sicily, Italy’s Incomplete City is not a singular place but an urban network across the country. In fact, the Italian Incomplete City forecasted the incomplete phenomena that came as the result of the global economic crisis, from the unfinished developments in Spain to the “ghost cities” of China and African new towns. Rather than view incomplete and abandoned architecture as reminders of past failures, they are presented as opportunities for new beginnings; open structures that demonstrate the potential of architecture to adapt to its environment. Platform’s innovation lies in the concept of embedding mini-buildings within a building-- with its significant financial and environmental savings-- to break boundaries between urban and interior spaces. Platform are collective spaces organized by the people who use them. Since abandoned structures are often located in urban neighborhoods that have low job opportunities, Platform reconceives of these structures as collective urban spaces that combine work with learning. It is both a place to work and learn skills for future work.
Who worked on the project?
MODU Team: Rachely Rotem, Phu Hoang, Daniele Bobbio, Shu Du, Margarida Osorio TransSolar (Climate Engineering), Kristi Cheramie (Landscape Architecture)
View the project video:
