Prior Ideas.
Before we came up with our design of the laptop desk for the disabled, we were focused on solving the issue of the difficulty in providing electricity to remote areas, such as the Blissful Cabin in the Catskill Mountains, a retreat center for disabled children.
Problem Description: The difficulty in providing electricity to remote areas, specifically a rural retreat center for disabled children in the Catskill Mountains, is the problem that we would like to solve.
Requirements: 1) We must find a way to first generate the electricity. 2) We must then find a way to have this energy easily transferred to the cabin.
Restraints: The solution for this problem must be cost-efficient in order to make it a viable alternative way of supplying electricity.
Research: We researched several existing ways to generate electricity including the use of wind turbines, solar panels, and biomass such as tree bark in order to come up with our own ideas on how to improve these methods.
Brainstormed Ideas:
Idea 1) To band old car batteries to generate electricity in an easily portable way.
Idea 2) To use tree bark as biomass and a substitution for fuel in a power station to provide electricity in the mountains. Once the bark is boiled under water, the released steam would, with the help of steam turbines, generate the electricity, which could then be transferred to remote places such as the cabin.
Idea Evaluation:
Idea 1) Though this would also help with the recycling of car batteries, it is not a practical solution as the batteries are not rechargeable; therefore, this would not be a viable alternative for providing electricity to remote areas.
Idea 2) This idea would be useful in the mountains where there are many trees. Also, it would be less wasteful than burning coal and polluting the earth. In addition, we could plant new trees to replace those we cut down. However, this idea may not be easily executed and it may not be the most cost effective and efficient way to provide electricity.
Problem Description: The difficulty in providing electricity to remote areas, specifically a rural retreat center for disabled children in the Catskill Mountains, is the problem that we would like to solve.
Requirements: 1) We must find a way to first generate the electricity. 2) We must then find a way to have this energy easily transferred to the cabin.
Restraints: The solution for this problem must be cost-efficient in order to make it a viable alternative way of supplying electricity.
Research: We researched several existing ways to generate electricity including the use of wind turbines, solar panels, and biomass such as tree bark in order to come up with our own ideas on how to improve these methods.
Brainstormed Ideas:
Idea 1) To band old car batteries to generate electricity in an easily portable way.
Idea 2) To use tree bark as biomass and a substitution for fuel in a power station to provide electricity in the mountains. Once the bark is boiled under water, the released steam would, with the help of steam turbines, generate the electricity, which could then be transferred to remote places such as the cabin.
Idea Evaluation:
Idea 1) Though this would also help with the recycling of car batteries, it is not a practical solution as the batteries are not rechargeable; therefore, this would not be a viable alternative for providing electricity to remote areas.
Idea 2) This idea would be useful in the mountains where there are many trees. Also, it would be less wasteful than burning coal and polluting the earth. In addition, we could plant new trees to replace those we cut down. However, this idea may not be easily executed and it may not be the most cost effective and efficient way to provide electricity.