The Surrey has arrived

Thanks to the efforts of Kirby Kelbaugh, we purchased a used Surrey (also known as a quadricycle that   four people can pedal, but can carry at least six people). Kirby traveled to Ocean City to pick up the cycle at Dandy Don's bike rentals. Here he is on a test drive at UMBC a few minutes after we unloaded the Surrey from the truck:

Next step: we need at least four peddlers to get up the hill and test this machine on Hilltop circle!
On Monday the UMBC Baja Team will join us to talk about modifications and attaching flotation.
Other tasks - stripping off any unnecessary components, and learning how to change a flat tire on this thing.

Visit to the Baltimore Bike Experience

   Mai and I traveled to downtown Baltimore today to visit the Baltimore Bike Experience (https://www.facebook.com/baltimorebikeexperience).

   The B'More Bike Experience occupies a large storage area in Digital Harbor High School (http://www.baltimorecityschools.org/416). I was struck by the number of bicycles and the well organized piles of bike parts that they had. MICA grad Andy Dahl (MFA 2014) co-directs the program with  the help of Nima Shahidi as co director/facilitator and three teachers from Digital Harbor. As Andy noted, "Nothing is wasted." They fix up bikes and sell them, or use the frames to build bike racks, or bring broken parts to scrap metal dealers. Students who have put in enough hours also receive a repaired bike for free. One of their students has been offered a job as a bike mechanic at the Race Pace bike shop a few block down Key Highway from the school. 

   Andy and Nima are inspiring to watch - Andy circles everyone up to summarize what they learned the previous week and what they plan to do this afternoon. Nima challenges everyone to a visual/mechanical puzzle. Pointing to a bicycle hanging from a bicycle repair stand, Nima asks the students, "This frame was donated to us after the owner claimed it was defective and was given a new one by the manufacturer. Can anyone see what is wrong with it?" After a few seconds, a student notes that the "drop out" is broken. Nima turns to the group: "Everybody understand what a drop out is? Right, that piece broke off - supposedly when the owner tried to place the bike in his car - but we can harvest a lot of good parts from the this frame and make it into a bike rack." Nima and Andy then list the number of tasks that need to be done, and they let students choose. Mai and I sort through a box of chains, gears, and cranks to see which can be salvaged and stored in the parts bins. If it hadn't been raining outside, we would have taken some of the bikes out for a ride. I will look forward to another visit when the weather is clear.

   The program operates from 3pm to 6pm every Wednesday. Andy noted that if he had more funding, he would expand the program to multiple afternoons. I would like to see this happen; when I was in graduate school in Dr. Gil Noam's course on after school programs (Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2002), it was estimated that only 10% of the expressed need for after school programming was being met. Funding and space are major obstacles. For more information on after school education, please visit the Program in Education, Afterschool and Resiliency (PEAR) at http://www.pearweb.org.

October reflections

1. What have I learned from the assigned readings and videos that we can include in our

design?

The content we’ve covered has raised a critical awareness of the impact we have individually and collectively on our Earth. I’m left in awe of our planet’s elasticity. The force of our world must be represented in our design, evoking a deeper appreciation for its majesty and central role in our survival. For me, that means the difference between simply using plastic water bottles as a representation for our waste, and allowing them to become a medium for a broader, more abstract message.

2. What have I learned from our site visits, photographs & videos that can inform our design?

Visiting the Baltimore Foundery was an experience that enlightened and inspired. In a practical sense, I learned the names of various tools and their applications: the difference between a drill press and a miter saw, for example. I also learned about the work that they’re engaged in, and how it relates back to my own interests. As always, the site visits have reminded me of the interconnectedness of all things. This relates back to our design in a more abstract way, when discussing the thematic elements and how to communicate a vision of sustainability that speaks to its interdisciplinary nature.

3. What have I learned from the kinetic sculpture web site and KSR blog that can inform our design?

The KSR website and others have grounded my thoughts in the practical realities of creating a sculpture that will make it through the race. Having our resident engineer visit the group was particularly insightful, and the axioms he spoke to, “the more wheels you have, the more points of contact you have with the ground, the more trouble you can run into”. That’s very the kind of common-sense driven engineering that pulls me back toward what can actually be executed.

4. What have I learned about the importance of building partnerships in our community?

The more we progress, the more I realize how many people we will need to be involved in order for us to be proud of what we put out. I’ve put much of my time into thinking about what groups to engage, from artists to engineers, in order to ensure our project’s success.

5. What have I learned about the design process (about developing a design in collaboration)

An Aristotelian quote comes to mind, “How many a dispute could have been deflated into a single paragraph if the disputants had dared to define their terms!" It’s not that there are any ‘arguments’ during our process, but rather that the best outcomes come from each participant engaging in a carefully edited thoughtfulness, so that questions and answers are understood as they were intended. Allowing for this process to flourish is something I think often about.

6. How can I draw from all of the above in order to “tell our story” (describe our project) to a wider audience?

I think the most appealing way to describe KSR and our class’s involvement is by allowing everyone to see their own interests in our process. Like anything that is truly interdisciplinary, it is our job to articulate the ways of knowing in a way that is inclusionary, and broad enough to inspire all. In terms of engaging folks, I think about it in similar terms of The Garden, allowing people to self-select based on their own inherent talents and passions, challenging our creativity to find the link back to our project. If we are able to do that, then I think we have succeeded.

7. How is our work interdisciplinary? Has there been any “transfer” of understanding from an

artistic perspective to an engineering perspective, for example?

There has been a clear shift through the semester in our process: individuals on either end of the spectrum have demonstrated more thoughtfulness toward considerations that may not have to do with their inherent interests, and in my opinion this has led to more productive work. 

Design Idea #4: Mountains of Plastic Trash and the Plastic Bottle Infographic

I know that is not an appealing name, but after watching a "Story of Stuff" episode about plastic water bottles at http://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-bottled-water/ we brainstormed a new design that has more to do with downcycling (plastic ending up in a landfill in a foreign country) than upcycling (finding new uses for plastic bottles).
Our design process progressed from reviewing the design parameters (the official race rules and the how to build section of the Baltimore Kinetic site) to a simpler but sturdier four wheel design. We briefly considered welding two tandem bicycles side by side, but Gabriel suggested that we modify and old four person pedal car called a "Surry."it looks something like this:

We discussed the Lorax again, and the need to build awareness about mindless consumption of bottled water as well as mindless disposal of plastic bottles. Two key images emerged from our design discussion: the mountains of plastic bottles in landfills, and the need for a bottle infographic depicting the amount of resources (including petroleum and water) used to manufacture and transport plastic water bottles. 

It is fascinating to listen to the artistic challenges of making "a mountain of plastic" into an aesthetic whole with symbolic value; how to create a large water bottle graphic on each side of the pedal car; and how to depict as a whole the lifecycle of the typical plastic water bottle. Where to put the information? Won't words and numbers get in the way of artistic images? How to mount the artwork to the chassis in a way that won't be dislodged when we splash into the Baltimore harbor? how will this thing float, anyway? Stay tuned for more…

Adventures of the Kinetic Sculpture Racing team!

Design Idea #3: Four Trikes and a Submarine

We were hoping to distribute the weight of the sculpture and four riders (a.k.a Pilots or "Kinetinauts") over twelve bicycle wheels on four adult size tricycles, then wrap a submarine hull made of up cycled  plastic bottles around it. The idea was - and still is - to raise awareness about the crisis of plastic garbage in our oceans, especially the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/?ar_a=1) as well as the amount of energy (and petroleum) that goes into the production of plastic water bottles. 

We discussed the Lorax as a champion of environmental protection, so we would include an actor dressed as the Lorax, reciting a slight variation on Dr. Seuss' story: 
"I am the Lorax, I speak for the seas;
which you seem to pollute as quick as you please."

It was all coming together rather nicely when our engineering consultant, Mike G. showed up to critique the design. It turns out that so many bicycle wheels fixed in position are very likely to "taco" - to warp or buckle - under the stresses of turning, load shifting, and uneven pavement.

Also, quick egress in the event of an accident (most likely in the harbor) is important, and difficult in a submarine. So our resilient team is working on… Design Idea #4.

KSR Monthly Report - Gabi

1. What have I learned from the assigned readings and videos that we can include in our

design?

• I’ve learned how much we throw away when we could really recycle it or more importatnly upcycle it. Through watching some of the videos I’ve been able to grasp how some of these KSR designs function in both land and sea.

2. What have I learned from our site visits, photographs & videos that can inform our design?

• Going to the AVAM I got to see a few different design ideas. The one that stood out the most was the crocodile design. I thought it was interesting how they were able to constrain the trikes in a line while allowing them to swivel by turning the handlebars. I also thought the use of foam blocks on the side of each trike was a good flotation concept although I don’t think it would be able to displace the full weight.

3. What have I learned from the kinetic sculpture web site and KSR blog that can inform our design?

• From the KSR website I’ve learned all the do’s and the do not’s of the race. I’ve also gotten a lot of ideas for floatation mechanism which I think is going to be the most challenging part of the design. From the blog I’ve gotten to know the strengths of our individual members.

4. What have I learned about the importance of building partnerships in our community?

• Partnerships are essential to the development of a design. We wouldn’t have the design we have now without reaching out to the community and other individuals. We have a place to weld and person who’s going to get us bikes and many more opportunities and resources because of our outreach.

5. What have I learned about the design process (about developing a design in collaboration

with students with expertise in a variety of areas)? What has been meaningful? What has been challenging, and what are some ways in which we could meet the challenges?

• I’ve learned that it is very difficult to convey a mechanical design concept to someone with a background in psychology and I’ve also learned it is like talking to a wall when an art major is talking to an engineer about how the materials colors are important to the design. In the end the range of thought processes are what make it such a well rounded design. The hard part is continuing down a path and not getting bogged down in the details.

6. How can I draw from all of the above in order to “tell our story” (describe our project) to a wider audience?

• I’ve been slowly trying to pick up on how other members interact with the community so that I can better convey the story of our design.

7. How is our work interdisciplinary? Has there been any “transfer” of understanding from an

artistic perspective to an engineering perspective, for example?

• Every class there is input from people of all different disciplines and that is what our design is based on. It’s not solly an engineer designing the frame or an artist making the sculpture. It all flows together and in that we see how interdisciplinary action is affecting this project.