A 'Design for Extreme Environments Project' (DEEP) venture
This project was featured on Discovery Channel Canada's Daily Planet series. You can watch the clip here!
http://watch.discoverychannel.ca/clip552289#clip552289
The University of Cincinnati produced this short video (3:35) about the project in its early stage. You can watch that video here: http://youtu.be/XGsPVYmlFbU
About DEEP:Current data collection for climate change is predominately gathered in extreme environments, such as Aquarius Reef Habitat, Antarctic Research Station, and glacial environments including the Matanuska Glacier Research Camp. The conditions of these environments strain research efforts as outdated human support practices are employed in supporting advanced scientific discovery. The researchers’ environmental exposure limits the amount and quality of data gathered.
The project: united design, geology, and engineering experts in supporting human performance under inhospitable conditions in the service of science. The Design team was charged with the task of creating innovative solutions to improve the habitat experience during data collection excursions. The habitat experience as we simply defined it was the structure and the sleeping bag.
For the structure, our aim wasn't to reduce weight or design an innovative form, but rather to generate a level, sleep/work platform for the Geology team. As we immersed ourselves in the project at the University of Cincinnati, we found we had more questions than our content experts were prepared to answer. We assembled a toolkit to iterate on site and test our ideas on location. We set out to trial pneumatic, rigid, and suspended structures and used the lower altitudes in the beginning of the trip to define which systems we would trial at the highest elevation.
For the sleeping bags, our focus was on two scenarios. The first scenario: it's monsoon season and the user is confined to their tent to record data and write in their field book. The first bag was designed with zippered sleeves for the user to extend their arms through and remain in their bag while writing, working, or drinking some water. The second scenario: the user is out collecting samples and it has gotten late, the hot sun has melted snow up on the mountain top which is causing the streams to flood and the trail back to camp will be blocked until morning. The second bag was designed to be very lightweight and compact to store in a day pack for situations just like these.
Project Team:
Geology: Dr. Lewis Owen (Chair of Dept. of Geology, Professor), Dr. Craig Dietsch (Professor), Kate Hedrick (PhD Candidate) Engineering: Dr. Jainagesh Sekhar, Patrick Myers (Master's Candidate), Santeri Potticary (Undergraduate student)
Design: Brian Davies (Founder of DEEP, Professor), Me (Master's candidate), Alex Corbin (Undergraduate student)
http://watch.discoverychannel.ca/clip552289#clip552289
The University of Cincinnati produced this short video (3:35) about the project in its early stage. You can watch that video here: http://youtu.be/XGsPVYmlFbU
About DEEP:Current data collection for climate change is predominately gathered in extreme environments, such as Aquarius Reef Habitat, Antarctic Research Station, and glacial environments including the Matanuska Glacier Research Camp. The conditions of these environments strain research efforts as outdated human support practices are employed in supporting advanced scientific discovery. The researchers’ environmental exposure limits the amount and quality of data gathered.
The project: united design, geology, and engineering experts in supporting human performance under inhospitable conditions in the service of science. The Design team was charged with the task of creating innovative solutions to improve the habitat experience during data collection excursions. The habitat experience as we simply defined it was the structure and the sleeping bag.
For the structure, our aim wasn't to reduce weight or design an innovative form, but rather to generate a level, sleep/work platform for the Geology team. As we immersed ourselves in the project at the University of Cincinnati, we found we had more questions than our content experts were prepared to answer. We assembled a toolkit to iterate on site and test our ideas on location. We set out to trial pneumatic, rigid, and suspended structures and used the lower altitudes in the beginning of the trip to define which systems we would trial at the highest elevation.
For the sleeping bags, our focus was on two scenarios. The first scenario: it's monsoon season and the user is confined to their tent to record data and write in their field book. The first bag was designed with zippered sleeves for the user to extend their arms through and remain in their bag while writing, working, or drinking some water. The second scenario: the user is out collecting samples and it has gotten late, the hot sun has melted snow up on the mountain top which is causing the streams to flood and the trail back to camp will be blocked until morning. The second bag was designed to be very lightweight and compact to store in a day pack for situations just like these.
Project Team:
Geology: Dr. Lewis Owen (Chair of Dept. of Geology, Professor), Dr. Craig Dietsch (Professor), Kate Hedrick (PhD Candidate) Engineering: Dr. Jainagesh Sekhar, Patrick Myers (Master's Candidate), Santeri Potticary (Undergraduate student)
Design: Brian Davies (Founder of DEEP, Professor), Me (Master's candidate), Alex Corbin (Undergraduate student)
In Action: A geology student taking a rock sample. He is also wearing the project shirt I designed featuring the Bar-headed goose, whose migratory pattern sends them over the Himalayas each year.
Sample page from a 50 page cultural probe conducted by one of the classes I assisted teaching.
Another sample page from the probe.
A selection of competitive products and components used for defining our area of opportunity.
A page of my sketches ranging from sleeping bag concepts to habitat construction.
The two sleeping bag concepts I designed and manufactured. The bag on the left features zippered arm sleeves for staying in your bag while reading or working (1lb 12oz). The bag on the right used reinforced nylon exterior and a bonded mylar interior for lightweight use (14oz). It was lovingly named "the Chipotle Bag" for its ability, when turned inside out, to make the user look like a giant burrito.
Here we are checking the degree of slope as we create a level sleep/work platform.
Using our toolkit, we test out a few options for establishing a level platform.
By establishing the level platform, the tent was set at a height where ingress and egress was similar to that of a chair. Users could sit at the edge of the door or the tent to put on their boots and store items under this additional vestibule.
In this soggy, valley terrain, our attempts at a rigid structure failed.
Our Yoga Ball structure proved to be the most comfortable and quickest solutions to set up. With the balls simulating our early concepts for pnuematic solutions, our tests confirmed they could be a viable option.
Taken at our base camp (15,500ft) in the morning- just before setting out on our 10k hike up to 17,500ft to the glacier.
Setting up our system on the glacier. It took 30 minutes longer to set up compared to the previous test at a lower altitude.
A morning view from inside the tent looking at the face of the glacier we camped on overnight. 17,500 ft.
Moraine fields can contain boulders like these and establishing a level place to pitch a tent can be difficult. Our final test on the glacier included this fully suspended structure. You can see one of the team members heading out of the sun to take advantage of the shade provided by the elevated structure.
Our trip also included delivering a number of water filters to schools along our route.
We purchased filters from the Waves for Water project sponsored by Hurley.
We purchased filters from the Waves for Water project sponsored by Hurley.
