PROJECT THESIS

Our project’s main focus is helping students find joy in the school setting. We plan to make a DIY package with instructions to build instruments and make paint. Students will learn more about building, art, science, and music during the fabrication process.

SYRIAN GRID CONTEXT:

In this specific area of Syria (Al Ruhaybah) they have very little access to crafts and other materials for making art so we had to find a way to create paint with the pigment found in Syria and also the materials to make the instuments.

EDUCATION CONTEXT:

Students will learn about building, instruments, science, and design during fabrication. Creating the paint with nearby materials like flowers can serve as a great science experiment. Building the instrument helps with creativity and woodworking skills. Painting custom designs on the instruments adds personality and design experience.

PRECEDENTS

HOW DO WE KNOW IF WE ARE SUPPORTING OUR CLIENTS LEARNING GOALS?

When we spoke with our clients, they said they wanted more "hands-on" learning

WHAT ARE THREE QUESTIONS WE WOULD LIKE OUR CLIENTS TO CONSIDER?

How are pigments made locally? How can I use the knowladge from this project to make more things? How can I personalize the things I make?

HOW ARE WE GOING ABOUT UNDERSTANDING THE NEEDS OF CLIENTS?

We're making sure they have the right materials to do this project, and finding local resources

SKETCHES

PROTOTYPES

DELIVERABLES

REFLECTIONS/TAKEAWAYS

While working on this project we realized how we are lucky to live in a country with many different materials and we wanted to learn how to give back.

FEEDBACK

Why?

A flywheel can store energy very efficiently, so it could be used to extend power in regions where power is off for long periods of time. Many power plants use large flywheels, but we want ours to be smaller, and easy to assemble.

How it works

The amount of kenetic energy stored in a flywheel is stated as

where m is the mass of the flywheel and s is the speed.

Prototype 2.1

Assorted Prototypes (3.0+)

Prototype 3.8

Prototype 3.8 (3D Model)

Prototype 4.0

Next steps

1. Incorporate a weight
2. Add contactless spinning up
3. Add contactless power extraction
4. Create infographics/kits about the battery?

Thank you !

Plant Grid in Syria

The climate impedes the plant growth

Syria’s climate is dry, with little fertile soil and barely any rainfall.

Most plants only grow on tightly controlled farmland, where access is limited and people are often kept out.

Even at the school, the few trees that do exist are off-limits, untouchable. It’s something you are only allow to observe from a distance.

SYRIA: 62.1 gallons

US: 231.5 gallons

Water in US per square mile compared to Syria

This means less natural sources

Due to the lack of these resources there is a large increase in the wood pricing:

• $100 per ton in Syria

• $43 per ton in America

This makes it more difficult to replace day to day furniture such as desks and chairs.

Our solution?

Bamboo is a fast growing wood substitute

Grass!

There are many different varieties of bamboo but all of them grow at extreme speeds.

Additionally, many species don't need much water and are very strong.

In many other countries it is a normal and cheap source of a wood like material for furniture, tools, and even structures.

Male Bamboo will thrive the most

• 6 to 18 meters tall (20 to 60 feet) in just 3 to 5 years

• It is a clumping bamboo variant (not invasive)

• It is very strong (can be solid when grown in arid conditions)

• Needs very little water, and can survive with less than 1000mm of water

• Can withstand from about 23 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit

There are also a large variety of uses

This is going to be challenging you will probably need more then one slide.

My idea: Rember like a precedents slide (OOh we need a slide for research) the format of one? Like the images. have the images side by side then have a slide explaining each image, the soap and the table.

Applications of tensegrity and bamboo in construction

This is going to be challenging you will probably need more then one slide.

My idea: Rember like a precedents slide (OOh we need a slide for research) the format of one? Like the images. have the images side by side then have a slide explaining each image, the soap and the table.

Tensegrity is a material-efficient way to make structures that are spacious, aesthetically pleasing, and suitable for construction.

All you need is some bamboo and rope that is suitable for your application and some clever planning to tune the shape of the structure to fit your needs.

Tensegrity is not just limited to furniture, it can be used to make buildings, play structures, shade canopies, and much more.

Ways to Make Products

There are many different products and ways to make said products from bamboo. The main sub-product we focused on was bamboo oil, specifically the scent.

Bamboo itself cannot produce oil, but there are many ways to extract the scent and incorporate it into other products to make a type of bamboo oil.

There are many different extraction methods, the main two extraction methods we focused on were steam distillation and infusion.

Top choice for Sub-Products: Moso Bamboo

• Moso Bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) can be used for Food, textiles, timber, paper, bodycare, and will be save if panda invasion starts

• Its max hight is around 65-75ft

• Its max diameter is 12.5cm (7in)

• After 5 years it will take 45-60 days to reach 65ft. Then over the next 5-7 years, it will start fully developing/maturing and grow its final 5-10ft.

• Total time to reach maturity: 10-12



• Lifespan: 40-80 years

Infusion

Steam Distillation

How to bring this to a classroom

We’ve designed a simple yet engaging challenge that teaches collaboration, design, and resource management.

The task is straightforward:

Build a table or a chair (your choice) using as little rope and bamboo as possible.

feasibility tests

Our Solution/Booklet

Where we had problems

We had a few issues:

1. Our bamboo was a lot weaker due to its species.

1. We ran out of time to get the table top done.

1. The table/seat top needed a large amount of resources(We decided to weave or bamboo strips).

1. For male bamboo to grow in syria we need more irrigation and water.

1. Experts not getting back to us

1. Not good testing grounds.

Overall challenges

Thank you!

؜

In our twice offered course, Off-the-Grid, technologies we have examined are: electrical, communication, and water grids.

This second version of Off-the-Grid studio, we worked with a client-- A project working to redevelop schools in Syria-- This collaboration provided us real world insight into the complex meaning and impact of power grids.

Working with the Syria initiative to rebuild schools which our founder, Saeed Aruda, our students created educational projects for students in Syria. These projects are designed to contribute to healing Syria's broken grid system while also teaching about art, science and technology.

OFF-THE-GRID: SYRIA EDITION

EXERCISES, VISITORS, PRECEDENTS AND ASSIGNMENTS: OFF-THE-GRID SYRIA

OFF-THE-GRID: SYRIA

SOLUTIONS FOR BUILDING RESOURCES, PLAYING SPORTS, MAKING MUSIC/CRAFTS

By GABE & NICO/ ANDREW &

SAM/ MABEL, CASPER, SAMMY/ VICTORIA & ABIGAIL/ GIBRAN & CAROLINE

Meshtastic's implementation in Syria.

Matthew McAdam, Lloyd Graves

PROJECT THESIS

Project statement: Our project aims to create communication grid guides that utilize Meshtastic to encourage hands on education in Syrian schools while allowing them to create their own self reliant communication device.

PRECEDENTS

؜School over radio

Diy radio example

؜Grid based communication network.

Ambessa play

SKETCHES & MODELS

FIRST ITERATION

Our first iteration was a small radio that could send messages about 100 feet. It sent simple text messages, without input.

SECOND ITERATION

The second idea was an FM radio transmitter. This was built from scratch, no Arduino or any micro controller. However this also failed, as the circuit was non functional. We also worried that using FM would cause legal problems.

THIRD ITERATION

The third and final idea that we ended up executing in the end was creating Meshtastic devices. This is a low end prototype without any housing.

DATA COLLECTION:

ANSWERS:

WHAT IS MESHTASTIC

Meshtastic is open source radio firmware that allows radios (or nodes as their called in Meshtastic) to communicate with one another via text. It also allows the creating of a mesh based radio network that allows for the sending of messages over long distances.

MESHING AROUND

We wanted to create our ideal meshtasitc device. If we were to create one with all of our high fidelity tools and resources what would that look like and what would its functions be.

DELIVERABLES

Our book on how to build your own Meshtastic device, covering skill building like soldering, has resources on where to start and how to build, and overall meshtastic grid education.

1. Create a More complete guide
2. need to show more info about creating there own device housings
3. need to work on sourcing
4. look into implementing other peripherals to work around the users need such as a battery and hand crank
5. need to adjust the guide formatting to optimize for ink usage - thanks gabe!
6. continue the guide to show skills such as wiring and soldering and flashing the firmware
7. simplify the instructional infographics to make the assembly a lot easier

FUTURE CONTINUATION:

PROJECT THESIS

Project statement: Our project aims to create communication grid guides that utilize Meshtastic to encourage hands on education in Syrian schools while allowing them to create their own self reliant communication device.

PRECEDENTS

Jimmy Kamara, 9, is one of the students in Sierra Leone who use radios to continue their education while schools remain closed owing to Ebola.

Diy radio example

Open source off the grid cell network system allowing for gps, tracking of devices, text and audio communication amongst other things.

Ambessa play

SKETCHES & MODELS

FIRST ITERATION

Our first iteration was a small radio that could send messages about 100 feet. It sent simple text messages, without input.

SECOND ITERATION

The second idea was an FM radio transmitter. This was built from scratch, no Arduino or any micro controller. However this also failed, as the circuit was non functional. We also worried that using FM would cause legal problems.

THIRD ITERATION

The third and final idea that we ended up executing in the end was creating Meshtastic devices. This is a low end prototype without any housing.

DATA COLLECTION:

ANSWERS:

WHAT IS MESHTASTIC

Meshtastic is open source radio firmware that allows radios (or nodes as their called in Meshtastic) to communicate with one another via text. It also allows the creating of a mesh based radio network that allows for the sending of messages over long distances.

MESHING AROUND

We wanted to create our ideal meshtasitc device. If we were to create one with all of our high fidelity tools and resources what would that look like and what would its functions be.

DELIVERABLES

Our book on how to build your own Meshtastic device, covering skill building like soldering, has resources on where to start and how to build, and overall meshtastic grid education.

1. Need to complete guide to provide better detail on the assembly, configureation, skill building, and overall explanation. In addition the infographics need to me improved to better communicate information.
2. need to show more info about creating there own device housings
3. need to work on sourcing
4. look into implementing other peripherals to work around the users need such as a battery and hand crank
5. need to adjust the guide formatting to optimize for ink usage - thanks gabe!
6. continue the guide to show skills such as wiring and soldering and flashing the firmware
7. simplify the instructional infographics to make the assembly a lot easier

FUTURE CONTINUATION:

Thesis Statement

This project aims to bring a long-term, sustainable source of sports equipment. We plan to do this by creating instructions on how to create a DIY soccer net using string made from plastic bottles in the environment. This allows kids to understand how the equipment is made, learning engineering principles along the way.

SYRIAN GRID CONTEXT:

The students don't have access to soccer nets and other sports equipment, because

Soccer nets require heavy manufacturing, involving nylon and woven meshes as well as large steel beams. They also require high transportation cost, due to the metal frames being large and heavy. This makes them difficult for the students in Syria to access as their production interacts with several grids which each increase cost.

Grids

Precedents

Prototypes

DELIVERABLES

1. Add a screenshot of an important page from your book
2. Add an infographic
3. Add the link to your book

Final Prototypes

SYRIAN GRID CONTEXT:

The students don't have access to soccer nets and other sports equipment, because

1. Find a way to consistently start the bottle cut
2. Weave the string we made into a net

1. Do you think the cutter is too simple or too complex?
2. What other uses do you see for the recycled string besides sports?

Next Steps/Feedback

Thank You

Thesis Statement

GRID OVERVIEW: HOW DOES THIS 'GRID' WORK IN DEVELOPED ENVIRONMENTS?

WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES?

Soccer nets require a lot of manufacturing, involving nylon and woven meshes as well as huge steel beams. They also require a lot of transportation cost, because the metal frames are large and heavy. This makes it difficult for the students in Syria to access them as it's interacting with many grids which increase cost.

Grids

We can make an educational booklet with steps to make a soccer goal or other sports equipment

Educational Context

The benefits of this project reach far past the goal of just having brand new sports equipment. While students are procuring resources and building the gear, they're learning engineering principles that they can use to modify, repair or even make brand new equipment

Precedents

Deliverables

Our deliverables are a high fidelity soccer net at 1/3 scale and an instructional booklet with how we made it and best practices from all the mistakes we'll inevitably make.

Feedback

• What materials should we use for the frame?
• How could we make this more affordable to create?
• What other pieces of equipment would also be useful to have a guide on

Thank You

Studio Calendar

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

9 AM Block

1 PM Block

Studio Introduction + What is a Grid

Client Visit

Week 1 (Apr 16 - Apr 17)

Driving Question: What speed of wheel will make your car go in a circle/oval of a particular radius?

History of Syria (Syrian Civil war)

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

9 AM Block

1 PM Block

G4G

Prepare Questions+ Prepare Intro

Electricity + What is Grid p2

Meet Students

Week 2 (Apr 22 - April 25)

Rebuilding society

Driving Question: How much has your car turned?

Project Brainstorming

Communication Systems

Power of Infographics

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

9 AM Block

1 PM Block

G4G

Finalise Groups

Week 3 (April 28 - May 2)

Project Thesis

Heat/Cold

Desk Crits

Feedback + Documentation

Project Work

Project Work

Project Work

Driving Question: What home assistance robot are you building?

Mid Reviews

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

9 AM Block

1 PM Block

Pencils Down

Presentation Prep

Week 4 (May 5 - May 9)

Project Work

Project Work

Presentation Prep

Final Presentations

Project Work

Project Work

Project Work

Project Work