ImaginativePRO Blog

HOW MIT PROFESSOR DAVID WILSON SOLAR-POWERED GRILL STORES THE SUN'S ENERGY FOR NIGHTTIME FUEL-FREE GRILLING

Many of us will be firing up our grills this weekend for some well-deserved barbecue time. After all, barbecuing is one of America’s greatest past times, but it certainly isn’t one of our most environmentally friendly. Whether you prefer charcoal, wood chips or propane, grilling releases emissions and contributes to poor air quality. Up until now, solar powered grilling has required, as you might expect, the sun, which means traditional fuel-fired grills are required after sunset. But new solar technology developed by MIT professor David Wilson could bring a nighttime solar-powered grill to the market very soon; an invention also of great benefit to those in developing nations who rely on wood to cook all their food.

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Wilson’s technology harnesses the sun and stores latent heat to allow cooking times for up to an amazing twenty five hours at temperatures above 450 degrees Fahrenheit. The technology uses a Fresnel lens to harness the sun’s energy to melt down a container of Lithium Nitrate. The Lithium Nitrate acts as a battery storing thermal energy for 25 hours at a time. The heat is then released as convection for outdoor cooking.

Wilson says.

"There are a lot of solar cookers out there, but surprisingly not many using latent-heat storage as an attribute to cook the food.”

This study is very timely because although the students are creating a new grill for American backyards, the business plan is designed to allow the grills to be deployed in developing countries as an alternative source for cooking. 

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Wilson originally came up for the idea during his time spent in Nigeria. While there he noticed a large set of problems linked to practice of cooking with firewood. These problems include reports of women being raped during their daily search for firewood, constant increase in deforestation, and respiratory health issues due to the daily inhalation of smoke in closed proximities. According to the United Nations Statistics Division, 55 percent of households in sub-Saharan Africa depend on firewood. In developing countries this Solar Grill would become a solution to a growing need.

A group of MIT students are working with the technology to develop a prototype solar grill. Derek Ham, Eric Uva, and Theodora Vardouli are conducting a study through their multi-disciplinary course “iTeams,” short for “Innovation Teams”, to determine the interest in such a concept and then hopefully launch a business to manufacture and distribute these grills. The goal is to develop a business model for distributing solar grills to developing nations as well as a grill for the American market. The American version is expected to be a hybrid propane/solar model that will allow for flame cooking as well as through thermal convection. If all goes well, in a couple years we just be giving solar grills as presents on Father’s Day and enjoying sun-kissed instead of char-broiled even after the sun goes down.

In the US market, according to the Barbecue Industry Association, about 75 percent of all U.S. households owned a barbecue grill in 1999, and 40 percent owned more than one. To respond to the demands of the American public, the proposed US model would be a hybrid system of both propane and solar cooking capabilities. This would allow you to have your flame kissed meat as well as the ability to slow roast corn from the thermal convection. Currently the technology is in its prototype stage, but if all goes well in a few years you might be able to have Solar-Cooked food at your next barbecue.

COMMENTARY:    I love the idea of a solar-powered BBQ grill, but the flavor and aroma of hickory smoke would be lost using the Wilson solar grill. I suppose you could use liquid smoke to make up for the loss of smoke.  In case you were wondering, the Wilson solar grill is still not ready for prime time, and is not available commercially, so I could not find a price

Courtesy of an article dated August 11, 2011 appearing in Inhabitat and an article dated August 11, 2011 appearing in BarbequeLovers.com 

HOW ART SCHOOL GRAD PO-CHIH LAI DESIGNED THE "STAIR ROVER," A SKATEBOARD THAT YOU CAN RIDE DOWN STAIRS

NOW THE ONLY PROBLEM IS ALL THOSE "NO SKATEBOARDING" SIGNS.

Why do skateboarders grind on railings? Was it part of an evolution of the sport, from backyard pools to urban landscapes? Sure. Was it a ridiculous idea from a skateboarder who preferred to risk life and limb, sliding down a rail rather than face certain death taking the stairs on a skateboard, again? Probably.

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Now, recent Royal College of Art graduate Po-Chih Lai has designed a skateboard that can cruise down stairs without a second thought. Called the Stair Rover, it’s the semi of skateboards, an 8-wheeled beast that’s quite literally “rocking” an aluminum Y-frame to transform stairs into a passive-propelling landscape.

 

Lai tells Co.Design.

“My idea is basically the same as surfers.  They look for the hidden energy of nature, which is waves. Mine is looking for the hidden energy around us. Interestingly what I found is stairs, there are plenty of stairs hidden around our playground and habitat--the city.”

Whereas some may see Lai’s clever skateboard as an overly simplified parallel to the automatic transmission in a suburban car, he sees his stairmaster as an extension of the extreme sport, turning “boundaries and restrictions into a positive and creative physical enquiry into the ever changing kinesis of the urban ecosystem.” Skateboarding is an activity shaped as much by culture as it is hardware, but as a once-clandestine activity has gone mainstream, it will be interesting to see if the traditional hardware is reassessed to enable a new generation of bigger, crazier tricks (and plenty of commuter convenience along with them).

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What could Tony Hawk do on a skateboard fitted with Segway-like intelligence and an F1 engineering crew? What if sensors were ensuring his board was always at the right angle when making contact with the pavement, allowing him to focus even more on wild aerial stunts? What if traction control could assist where his balance failed?

And what if--just what if--Lai’s skateboard could climb up the stairs, rather than just down them?

COMMENTARY:    Nice design.  Handmade.  Eight wheels.  Expensive, no doubt.   You are looking at a $600 skateboard.  If you got the doe, and willing to take the chance of being caught skateboarding down stairs, have at it.  Looks like fun to me.  

Courtesy of an article dated June 28, 2012 appearing in Fast Company Design

THE CAVE: AN INFLATABLE GEODESIC TENT THAT SETS UP AND BREAKS DOWN IN MINUTES AND FOLDS INTO ITS OWN BAG

IT’S LIKE THE 1970S ARE GOING CAMPING…IN A GOOD WAY!

The modern tent is a pretty amazing invention. Constructed of everyday materials like nylon and fiberglass, it can spring from backpacks to offer shelter in some of the worst outdoor conditions. But could we do better? Of course, we can always do better.

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‘The Cave’--designed by Frackenpohl Poulheim to be sold under the Heimplanet brand--is a tent with no poles. Instead, this shelter deploys an inflatable diamond grid--a geodesic dome--to support the structure. It’s kind of like a moon bounce without the bounce, a tent that pops out in a minute with a bicycle pump and deflates without any effort at all.

 

The inflatable frame has several advantages, aside from a dome’s inherent spaciousness. You’ll never curse over those strange modular poles again. And more importantly, you won’t have to worry about poking one of those poles through your tent in the process. As fragile as the Cave’s pool animal technology may appear, it can actually withstand winds up to 75mph, and the grid exoskeleton is actually split into five double-layered modules, meaning that if one pops, the tent will keep standing.

 

It’s almost an amazing idea. Practically speaking, however, inflatable structures may work better for larger scale emergency response--like the hospitals used by Doctors WIthout Borders--than backcountry camping. A hiker would find the pump unwieldy in a pack. And while the Cave may just take a minute to deploy, the modern tent doesn’t take much longer. For those camping well away from civilization, saving a few minutes at a campsite might not be worth the risk of sleeping under something that could leak or pop, however unlikely that outcome may be. Inflatable structures save a lot of time at scale. But for smaller, one-room abodes, that time savings is tougher to appreciate.

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All of that said, were I filming some sci fi movie taking place a decade in the future, the Cave certainly fits the idealistic bill. Then again, I still have a soft spot for Epcot.

COMMENTARY:    I am not much of a camper, but if you are, I hope you found The Cave inflatable geodesic tent interesting.  I like the fact that it comes packed in its own bag with a shoulder harness, you can set it up in a just a few minutes with a hand airpump, and can deflate and fold it up for packing in very short order.   Inflatable tents are nothing new, they have been around for quite a while.  I actually saw something similar in QVC once.  

German product designer Frackenpohl Poulheim has designed some really slick products. Checkout their website.  I love their Myon Robot.

Courtesy of an article dated June 13, 2012 appearing in Fast Company Design

 

FOR FINICKY KIDS AND RICH PARENTS: SMARTPLAYHOUSE'S SUPER CHIC AND MODERN PLAYHOUSE'S, CAN COST UP TO $12,000

Because you're never too young for the finer things in life.

When architect David Lamolla Kristiansen's first daughter was born, he vowed to dedicate his time to creating a special place "just for her" where "she could discover and develop without the direct intervention of her parents."  The result, SmartPlayhouse, is a clutch of tres chic, modernist playhouses that are great for kids alright -- and even better for their design-obsessed parents.

Let's clarify: their rich design-obsessed parents. The playhouses shown here -- one's inspired by the famed Mikimoto building in Tokyo, by Toyo Ito, the other's a Mies van der Rohe-esque homage to mid-century modernism -- cost $3,400 and $12,000 respectively... starting! Extras like curtains, lighting, foundations, and even a door lock and key can tack on another $1,800. For that kind of money, you could buy your kid an entire neighborhood in Detroit.

COMMENTARY:   SmartPlayhouse produces both indoor and outdoor playhouses.  Some can be used both ways.  All of them are made-to-order.  These are tres chic playhouses, and are plenty expensive.  Most of the models come in three different sizes: Mini, Junior and Maxi.  These playhouses look like a lot of fun once outfitted with furniture, curtains, lights and fittings.  I can see why young kids would go bonkers over thse playhouses.  I have a feeling that after the Fast Company article and my blog post, SmartPlayhouse is gong to get a lot of website traffic and new orders.  I can remember the days when you could actually buy a small house for about $12,000.      

Courtesy of an article dated March 23, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design

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DUTCH DESIGNERS INTRODUCE THE P-TREE, OUT-IN-THE-OPEN PUBLIC URINALS ATTACHED TO TREES, JUST IN CASE GUYS NEED TO PEE

Saving trees from full bladders everywhere.

It’s an unfortunate fact of outdoor concerts: The number of toilets is always in inverse proportion to the number of drunk asses who need to pee. So people -- and by people, we mean shameless dudes -- make a urinal out of the local flora.

Here to rescue Mother Nature from full bladders everywhere is AANDEBOOM, a Dutch design studio that has invented either the world’s cleverest or the world’s grossest makeshift restroom. P-Tree is a rotation molded recycled plastic receptacle that straps onto a tree trunk, transforming your resident oak into the backdrop for a public (very public) urinal.

P-Tree AANDEBOOM from AANDEBOOM on Vimeo.

Once you get past the ick factor -- and really, is it any grosser than a porta potty? -- it’s actually pretty smart. Guys pee on trees. P-Tree acknowledges the inevitable and adds a layer of protection so that said trees don’t take a direct hit. (Or a slightly less direct hit. Because let’s be honest: Aim has never been the drunk man’s strong suit). The best part: P-Tree hooks up to a central sewerage system or a tank, which means it actually flushes. P-Tree 1, porta potty, 0. The only downside we can see -- and the reason this one's an "Almost Genius" -- is that there's no shielding on either side of the urinal. Hence the significant number of members visible in the other images we received of the design. (At first we thought these were the fingers of guys unzipping. We were wrong.)

The Roskilde festival in Denmark, a sort of Coachella of the North Sea, installed 50 neon orange P-Trees this year. The festival’s “problem with public peeing was significantly reduced,” designers Rogier Martens and Sam van Veluw say. Which makes us wonder if P-Tree could actually catch on and become as much a staple of outdoor concerts as ganja balls and Wavy Gravy. We reckon so, at least in Europe, where using a urinal strapped to a tree does not, apparently, constitute “public peeing.” But in Puritanical America? Concert producers would never allow it. Sorry, guys. Find a bush.

COMMENTARY:  European's have a completely different orientation when it comes to things like sex, smoking pot, and now taking a pee right out in the open.  What a great idea.   I bet the parks and recreation department will like them too. What a great idea. The Dutch lead the way. Let's thank those dudes at AANDEBOOM.   Now sau AANDEBOOM!! five times in a row as fast as you can.

Courtesy of an article dated July 8, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design

 

THE ELEMENT BY FUEGO PORTABLE GAS-POWERED GRILL THAT CAN GO ANYWHERE

The Element By Fuego is aimed at tailgaters, campers, beach bums, and balcony grill masters.

Spring is coming, and we've got barbecuing on the brain. And one tool we're lacking is a decent portable grill. I mean, let's say you're playing whiffle ball in the park or lazing on the beach. Do you really want to eat a clammy chicken salad? Obviously not, but you just might settle if the alternative is lugging around a bulbous Weber "portable" grill.

Luckily, Fuego, the California startup better known for its chic home grills, has introduced a portable, gas-powered model called Element.

Designed by Martin Ruegg, the grill is reasonably powerful, at 8,000-BTU's. When not in use, an oversized red rubber band holds the top in place and the legs swing up to become handles. All told, it weighs less than 15 pounds -- light enough to be comfortable carried on your shoulder, with a clip-on strap.

The Element is available for pre-order now at $150, and ships March 28th.

COMMENTARY:   The Fuego Element portable grill is a great looking sturdy portable gas-powered grill, and at only 15 pounds, can be easily transported like a backpack.   Nice design. Looks like it can do the job, but the $150 price tag is a bit pricey.   

Fuego also seels a portable upright grill called the Fuego Element which comes in several different colors and is equipped with castor wheels so that the grill can be easily moved around.

The SRP for the Fuego Element upright grill is $599.00.

Fuego products can be purchased online through: 

• AJ Madison.com
• Amazon.com
• Costco.com
• Hayneedle.com
• HomeDepot.com
• Grillsdirect.com

Courtesy of an article dated March 10, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design

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