A WIP project:
My thesis project aims to create a low-cost DIY kit for off-grid electricity in the remote region of Turtuk, Leh, India, in collaboration with the local community. The kit will include visual schematics for wind turbines and electronics such as PCB inverter, MPPT Controller for supporting hybrid power system, empowering residents to construct and maintain the turbines independently, providing additional support for the electricity generation.
Objectives and key questions:
Drawing has always been an important part of how I think. In this case, it was especially useful because I needed to explain my needs to the fabricators as clearly as possible. Using drawings made it much easier to show what I wanted without the risk of my words being misunderstood. Looking back, I see this as a good habit to develop, as visual communication often works better than words alone.
The sketches first helped me understand my own ideas then bridge the gap between the same understandings and the fabricators. This ideation of sketches is not only limited to the fabricators but also extended to the community members in order to explain what kind of kit I am talking about.
Community insights have shaped the development of 1:10 and 1:5 scale models of the wind turbines using 3D printing. I tried 9 prototypes available in the market for wind energy generation purposes under a control environment to test which form works efficiently at lower wind speed. The finalized form was then developed 1:1 model using locally available materials such as metal rods, bicycle rings. This phase was carried out with the help of local fabricators from India, who really helped me in understanding the drawbacks of my form when it comes to making it.
The project can be understood in two phases, where the first phase was focussed on developing the input, the wind turbine for the kit. Whereas phase 2 of travelling to the village, working with the community for 14 days along with developing the electronics for the kit. The prototyping of the kit involves making an MPPT controller (a device that stabilizes the fluctuating output of a wind turbine into usable power to charge the 12v lead battery), making an inverter for low output of the dc battery to produce an AC current.
I wanted to explore the convergence of nature and technology, offering users a multi-sensory experience of natural systems through a plant-robot hybrid body. By combining physical interactions with dynamic visualizations, the goal was to help users gain a deeper understanding of nature by leveraging available tools and technology.
However, based on feedback, I am now uncertain about the robot’s role in fostering an understanding of plants. It seems to function more as a weather-telling machine than as a tool for learning about plant behavior. While users enjoyed the interaction, it did not significantly enhance their understanding of plants.
The rigidness of a robot took away the idea of how plants are totally immersed in their surroundings. As I would put it, the robot worked well as a machine but failed at replicating a hypersensitive being we know as “plant’.
