Kristen Baumlier

NEWS

PhoEf – Edible and Sustainable Solar Cells…. In Your Mouth

Posted on June 19, 2012June 27, 2012 by Kbaumlier

When I was at the Camp Pixelache event in Helsinki, Finland in May I learned about a unique project involving energy and food. On the Pixelache website, it had an article that talked about a past workshop called Temporary photoElectric Digestopians WorkLab which was aco-creation worklab with research based experimentations

on the transformation of light energy into electric energy with food. For the workshop, the participants worked with edible materials to create ‘e-tapas’ of different aesthetics and tastes by creating edile solar cells. The aronia berry was used, which is a sustainable power source for both the body and electronic devices.

I did some research on the worksnhop and project, and learned that PhoEf is the work Bartaku who does projects that explore both the micro and macro realms of Photovoltaics, which is the conversion of light energy into electrical energy.

On the project page of his website, Bartaku writes that, “PhoEf emerges from a personal, transversal flight through the interconnected worlds behind and around photovoltaics; a technology based on A.E. Becquerel’s 1839 observation of the photovoltaic effect… PhoEf is an attempt to reach, inspire and connect researchers, developers and artists.” I also found an interesting five minute video of an interview with Bartaku, which helped me better understand the project and how it works.

Solar cells can be expensive, so Bartaku was interested in using simple technology to create cheaper and sustainable solar cells. For the experiments pigments from plants (which can be natural or synthetic), electrolites, and graphite or carbon are mixed together and squeezed between glass plates – making a solar cell.

Since you design the cell, which is a temporary photoelectric cell, you can choose the shape, color, and other design elements. In the workshops that he leads, people make a cell, put it on their tongue, and then turn towards a light. The result is an electric sensation of the tongue as the energy hits the cell and the tongue.

The goal of the workshops is to share the technology and idea with others who are not familiar with making energy and solar cells. Bartaku hopes that other artists might think more about energy sources in their work, and make solar cells to power installations, outdoor activites, and elements used in performances.

His goal is to eventually make a solar cell made of 100 percent edible ingredients using the principles from the realms of alchemistry, photovoltaics, and cooking.

There is a flickr site that has photos from one of the workshops, which features lots of pictures with people with strange color shapes in their mouths. I am very interested in this idea and project, and hope to be able to attend a workshop in the future. Informaiton about making a PhoEf is on Bartaku’s research site, so go head and see if you can get your solar on!

Image Source:
PhoEf Project – Images on flickr

Links:
Video with Bartaku talking about PhoEf Project on Cobra TV

PhoEf Research Page – libarynth.org

PhoEf Project – Images on flickr

Bjorn Qorn: Popcorn Popped by the Sun

Posted on June 18, 2012June 27, 2012 by Kbaumlier

Bjorn Qorn is a new popcorn snack that is cooked not in a popcorn maker, but by a 5 meter basin structure that is built into the ground. The team behind the project is Jamie O’Shea, Ezer Lichtenstein and Bjorn Quenemoen who have been developing the cooking structure called the Caloris Basin, which can concentrate sunlight in an effective way for cooking.

All solar cooking devices work with reflecting light, but the unique thing about the Caloris Basin is that instead of being a structure built above ground, the Caloris Basin is a crater-like shape that is dug in the ground. To construct it, a lage hole is dug. This is then lined with concrete and mortar, and then laminated with a reflective material. The result is a large half dome structure which will heat up a kettle that is suspended at the center.

The idea came from team members looking at a picture of a bomb crater, and thinking about how this natural structure could be used instead of having to idea build the structure. With the cooking structure, you get free energy that you can use to cook for 6 hours a day.

Quenemoen has always wanted to make a popcorn business, so the team’s first project is using the Caloris Basin to make popcorn. To make the popcorn, the popcorn is put into a bucket and suspended in the central focal point of the circular reflective structure. When it heats up – the kettle gets up to around 600 degrees which is perfect for popping popcorn.

Earlier this month, a batch of Bjorn Qorn was made for an event at the Eyebeam center in New York, and you can currently buy some of the popcorn at the Eyebeam bookstore.

Their new facility will be opening this month in the Hudson Valley in New York state. Check out their website or video, which gives an overview of the project and you can see the Caloris Basin at work popping corn.

Image Source:
www.bjornqorn.com/

Links:

Bjorn Qorn – Vimeo Video

calorisbasin.tumblr.com/

www.bjornqorn.com/

Thirsty? Need a drink from the “bubbler?”

Posted on June 17, 2012June 27, 2012 by Kbaumlier

When I was growing up, bottled water was not sold yet. In fact – my mom used to make our water bottles out of empty maple syrup containers. There are pictures of us at baseball games drinking out of our syrup bottles.

The main place that we used to drink from at school and on the road was at the “bubbler.” If this means something to you – you probably originate from Wisconsin or a few other states where drinking fountains are sometimes called “bubblers.”

The term bubbler comes from a Bubbler, a trademarked name for a drinking fountain product invented in 1888 by the Kohler Company, which is based in Kohler, Wisconsin. The original Bubbler shot water one inch straight into the air, creating the bubbling phenomenon that gave the product its name.

Later, this was redesigned to cause the water to arc, which made drinking from it easier. The Bubbler name was trademarked, so other companies made drinking fountains that had names like the “Gurgler” and the “Gusher.”

The name bubbler is reported to still be used in most of Wisconsin, Portland, OR where 20 Bubbler fountains were installed in the late 1800s, Rhode Island, in a couple of cities in Massachusetts, and in Australia.

I recently have been filling up my water bottle with tap water, since the water in my town is tested and has healthy results. I will refill at work and head over to the bubbler to fill it up – but since I am in in Ohio now, I have to say drinkinfgfountain if I say it out loud or people look at me funny.

Image Source:
www.offbeatoregon.com

Trueque Digital: Sharing Files in a Personal (and In-Person) Way

Posted on June 13, 2012June 13, 2012 by Kbaumlier

At Camp Pixelache, an event I attended last month in Helsinki, Finland, I met Luis F. Medina who is a new media professor/researcher and cultural producer and one of the founders of the project Trueque Digital (TD).

Trueque Digital started in 2009 was founded by Medina, Fundacion Casa del Bosque, and Pio in the City of Bogotá, Colombia and it explores how sharing files and networking could work in a more personal way. TD is a traveling project where people gather to share digital content under open licenses and public domain. Each person participating brings a storage device to share information which is hooked up to the computer network for downloading files, and also a wireless network can be used.

While sharing this information (which might include video, music, books, etc.), there are often events and lectures about technology and our culture which might include topics such as open exchange models, p2p networks, net neutrality, culture free issues, hacktivism, and others. The project explores how one individual can give another person files as a digital bartering system.

The project came out of a few friends hanging out and talking, and they wanted to exchange files. The question, “How can we humanize this experience?” came up, and this idea inspired the project Trueque Digital.

At a Trueque Digital event, a “Trueque” is setup as a public access space such as at a museum, university, and cultural centers. Storage items are linked in order to digitally barter legally in the real world. Right now the group is often invited to setup a Truequ in person, but they are currentley re-engineering the project to have how-to directions so that it is easier for others to setup a Trueque without the groups’ participation.

The project has several aspects to it. One aspect is setting up a bartering zone” in which open source software and free culture are promoted. It also explores hardware recycling. Many old computers and a small land network are used to share files. At some events there is a real world of bartering involved, with an exchange of physical objects such as a book exchange occurring in parks.

In his presentation, Medina said that, “With the exchange of digital files there are always copyright issues. Usually we are fighting for the right to upload – what about the right to upload? “

In his presentation, Medina talked about how the project explores hacker ethics. It also challenged him and the rest of the founders of the project to acquire new skills through the process of having to problem solve and learn new things to make the project work.

Recent activities of the project include a Digital Barter event in Bogota, Colombia on May 5^th in coordination with the Eighth Festival of Latin American Free Software Installation. The event was organized by the communities of free software and free culture of Bogotá and was supported by organizations, companies, university groups and other public institutions who are engaged in the promotion of free software and culture. Trueque Digital was there setting up a Trueque and generating fie exchange. If you are interested in setting up a Trueque in the future, check out their website, directions to set up a Trueque will be added to the site soon.

Image Source:
www.flickr.com/photos/truequedigital

Links:

www.truequedigital.phunik.com/

www.flickr.com/photos/truequedigital

MaKey MaKey: An Invention Kit for Everyone

Posted on June 12, 2012June 15, 2012 by Kbaumlier

I’ve been keeping my eye out for interesting projects on Kickstarter recently. I am going to be starting a campaign for my new project Food Font next month on Kickstarter – so I have been watching the sites for interesting projects, and watching successful projects.

One great project that I backed this month is called MaKey Makey, which is a project which the makers call, “ an invention kit for everyone.” With the MaKey MaKey electronic device you can turn everyday objects into touchpads and combine them with the internet. It is meant to be an invention kit for beginners and experts doing art, engineering, and anything in between:

To use the device you load up a computer program, webpage, or game. You hook up the MaKey MaKey to something like a banana or playdough – and the banana or playdough becomes the mouse or joystick.

An example of how it can work that they describe on the website is, “Let’s say you load up a piano program. Then, instead of using the computer keyboard buttons to play the piano, you can hook up the MaKey MaKey to something fun, like bananas, and the bananas become your piano keys.”

You can play Pacman or type an email with your finger, pencil, or a custom alphabet soup keyboard.

MaKey MaKey works by clipping alligator clips to other objects, and the signal is sent back to the device and to the computer. The creators behind the project have done some workshops with the device at a conference with some grad students and other groups. Someone made a beachball into a controller. Someone else used playdough to make a unique keyboard.

MaKey MaKey works with any laptop or computer with a USB port and a recent operating system. The project is meant to support the Make Movement – to get others to think of themselves as makers or inventors, and to change the world.

The money that they have raised on Kickstarter will be used to help fund doing a large run of making the devices. The great thing about their Kickstarter campaign is that if you donate $35 – you get a MaKey MaKey device.

The devices will be made at Sparkfun., which is a unique partner. Sparkfun makes safe, environmentally responsible (RoHS compliant) circuit boards. They are located in the USA (in Boulder, CO), and they treat their employees well. Workers are paid a generous wage with benefits, can bring their dogs to work, listen to music while they work, etc. It The creators of MaKey Makey write, “ That may sound like it should be “normal”, but in the world of circuit production it is very rare and there are lots of sad working conditions elsewhere. Also, Sparkfun is the world’s largest manufacturer of Open Source Hardware, which is critical to MaKey MaKey, an all Open Source Hardware project.”

The Kickstarter campaign closes on June 12 – but you will still be able to order the device afterwards on the MaKey MaKey website. I can’t wait until mine comes. I will be posting with a playdough keyboard and banana mouse.

Image Source:
www.makeymakey.com

Links:

http://www.makeymakey.com/

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/joylabs/makey-makey-an-invention-kit-for-everyone