Proposal and Development Status - Open Source Ecology Forums

GVCS Status Brief

elifarley — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:40:02 +0100

There's a status brief page on the wiki - http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Status_Brief

"The status brief describes the up-to-date status of GVCS 50 Projects, Infrastructure Buildout, Worldwide Collaboration, and Organizational aspects of the 2012 Rollout Plan."

A robot to build a straw house

Yves_Gufflet — Wed, 18 May 2011 08:40:07 +0200

Hello,

I want to share an idea with you that I have for a while.

Basically the idea is to build a 3D Printer to print a straw house.

The main concept is that there is a robot who is able to weave the straw in order to generate the 3D model designed with a 3D software. Thus, the house is composed of only one big bundle of straw (with a shape of house).

If you are enough mad to think about this idea with me, do not hesitate to answer to this thread,

The best,

Yves

Farming (Agriculture) and Ranching (Livestock) Management Software

Thomas — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:10:04 +0200

Some of the people subscribed to the subreddit /r/homestead and I have been researching and brainstorming about software. There hasn't been something that we've been able to pin down as usable for all of our needs right out of the box. I propose we put all of our heads together and start a project to create a software suite that will be open source and free, cover all platforms (Windows, MacOSX, Linux), interact with mobile phones and devices (Android, IPhone, IPad, IPod) and include GPL-licensed databases as well.

http://www.reddit.com/r/homestead/comments/jy70m/good_management_software_for_livestock/

OSE Oven

robotjosh — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:40:20 +0200

I would like to gather ideas and suggestions for the OSE Oven. I can design the electronics to be user friendly, innovative, and mod-friendly. I will need help with the physical design and what materials to use. Since there is no work started on this, lets brainstorm what specs this should have. I am interested in hearing from anyone good at cooking or anyone who knows anything about oven construction.

Size:

Should this be a large commercial oven, a standard sized home oven, or a tabletop oven? Would it make sense to design all 3?

I think the commercial oven would be appropriate for the 200 person GVCS village if there is going to be a central kitchen. But for success of the OSE project I think we need a standard sized oven design because it can potentially be sold to more people. A tabletop oven would be good because it will be affordable and we could sell a lot of them.

Technology:

We can use electric quartz heaters for high tech infrared heating.

We can use propane or natural gas for more instant and cheaper heating.

I am partial to using quartz because I know more about electric things than pipes with gas in them.

Possible uses:

Bake food (duh)

Roast coffee beans, requires internal basket tumbler

Rotisserie, requires internal spit

Bake components onto PCBs, requires accurate temperature control, would work better in a tabletop oven.

Bake clay things, would work better in a standard or commercial sized oven.

Possible mods:

Thermocouple probe that you can stick inside the oven into a chicken or loaf of bread, oven will alert when internal temperature is ready. More accurate than using a set time. High end ovens have this but using it is complicated.

Power Cube 4 documentation.

PipeManMusic — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 07:55:12 +0200

I'm trying to get detailed build drawings put together for the Power Cube 4 design. It's a good test for the current documentation that I can't draw it with what is out there.

I've been able to draw the outside frame(for the most part), the engine bracket(Chis mentioned there was a design change when they where being built), and the hydrolic tank(without the hydrolic connectors).

The BOM lacks some of the parts shown in the 3d model videos.

The existing model is in a format I can't use. I can use FreeCAD files or DWG, DXF files. I don't need the models if I can get the information I need to make my own.

Chris said I should disregard the cylinders listed on the BOM, however some of those seem to be the connectors.

It would be nice to get a flow diagram of the operation fo the power cube even if a hand drawn sketch that I could work off of.

Any help and some pictures of the finished version 4 power cube would be helpful.

Open Hardware Project AlgaeFarm

WP9 — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:39:27 +0200

The AlgaeFarm Project

I have an open source hardware(OSHW) project I am working on and am looking for individuals who would like to help. This OSHW project incorporates software as well as open source mechanical designs and will be licensed under a GNU General Public License v3, and TAPR Open Hardware License v1 respectively.

It is built around the Arduino platform and will be controlled and monitored by a pc. The project will allow for the automated culturing of microalgae on an experimental scale in a closed environment photobioractor. This will allow DIY biologists and biohackers an opportunity to discover and experiment on new strains of microalgae without having to cough up the bucks for an outrageously overpriced piece of lab equipment.

There are currently automated photobioreactors on the market, however these seem to be marketed towards multi-million dollar research ventures and can cost anywhere from $1500 and up. The AlgaeFarm Project is an Open Source Hardware project that is just starting out and wishes to incorporate volunteers of all skill levels interested in DIY biology, phycology, chemistry, mechanical design, biofuels, software engineering, and more.

We aim to create a stable automated photobioreactor that is viable for school research and science fair projects, 3rd generation advanced biofuel research and development, biodegradable bio-plastics research and development, waste water treatment research and development, and more.

I have estimated roughly that a complete AlgaeFarm meeting the project specifications can be reproduced from freely downloadable open source information packets and less than $600 in materials costs. Materials costs can be lowered by being creative and using locally abundant recyclables and modifying the core designs of which ever release you will soon be able download. The $600 is only a rough estimate as material costs can fluctuate dependent on supply and demand and there seems no way to make a feasible guarantee on possible future economic instability.

Materials lists are provided in every information packet along with the sources where previous developers obtained their materials. Any distributed mods of the AlgaeFarm must have a materials list and sources for materials readily available to the third party for at least three years, it is open source you know.

Being an OSHW project unstable prototypes could possibly pose a hurdle as some of the materials may prove not to be reusable for their intended purpose if a prototype fails. Whereas an open source software project mostly requires time to find and fix a bug in the software and then can be recompiled, a bug in an OSHW prototype may prove costly in materials. For this reason, an OSHW project with all volunteer developers still requires materials and shipping and handling funds.

Further, great care will be taken to design as many features as possible in separate compatible modules. So once a problem is discovered in a prototype the individual modules can be assessed and then can either be repaired, modified, or replaced to function properly. Sort of like what clean code is for open source software developers, replaceable modules are for open hardware developers.

I'm mostly trying to get the idea out there right now so I'm not ready to "begin" the project so to speak even though it has already started. A fundraiser is going to be necessary as I do not have deep pockets. I have drawn out some interesting rewards that crowd contributors can claim after the project publishes the first stable release. The planned fundraiser, if successful, will allow for a stable release of the AlgaeFarm to be released for free and open source.

If you are interested in this project and want to read more drop by the AlgaeFarm Project page and check out what I've got so far. As of now the website is under construction every once in a while with new features and content added daily.

Let me know what you think, I would greatly appreciate the help and support to deliver this open source hardware project to the world.

Tyler J Hinz,
Founder and Interdisciplinary
WorldProject9 & the AlgaeFarm Project
Contact

Open Hardware Summit 2011 – Calling for Submissions

Jiff64138 — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 18:43:49 +0200

I propose there be OSE representation at OSH "The Open Hardware Summit (OHS) invites submissions for the second annual summit, to be held on September 15, 2011 in New York City (Venue TBA). The Open Hardware Summit is a venue to present, discuss, and learn about open hardware of all kinds. The summit examines open hardware and its relation to other issues, such as software, design, business, and law. We are seeking submissions for talks, breakout sessions, and demos from individuals and groups working with open hardware and related areas. Submissions are due by June 24, 2011. "

50+

icke — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 01:31:48 +0200

Hi,
I would like to propose another tool that I think of as being very important for building up a good running civilisation. The washing machine. Just imagine how much time it frees up for the people. Just imagine how much that freed up time would help people in their daily lives.
I can recommend http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/hans_rosling_and_the_magic_washing_machine.html, it clearly shows the importance of a washing machine for the quality of live.

I know, we should first get the 50 machines done... but maybe we can already start thinking of the 50+ set.

Comments, suggestions?

Pellets for africa

antoniorolla — Fri, 06 May 2011 06:39:51 +0200

I live in Africa and I face the daily struggle against deforestation.
people in the countryside (in the bush) are cutting trees at an incredible pace to make charcoal out of them.
it's an easy way to make money and the country need charcoal for heating and cooking, but the impact on the forest is really devastating.
do you know a cheap machine (ideally a manual to be used where no electric power exists) to build pellets?
pellets should not be too small in order to be easy to be managed for a kitchen fire (not a modern burner).
something big like a piece of wood (whatever shape, from 5 to 10cm or more).
the machine should be able to transform straw, grass, small pieces of wood and whatever remains from the harvest for example of crop.
in the bush there is a huge amount of grass and straw growing during every rainy season at the end of which it is simply burnt to keep the bush clean.
If such cheap machine would exist the villagers could cut the grass and straw in the bush and produce the pellets out of it.
we might be able to solve the problem of revenue for the villagers and the problem of fuel for cooking.

please help
future generations may thank you lot more than what I can do.
thanks

New Method Radiation Dosimeter

Landrew — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:13:46 +0200

I created a new method for radiation dosimetry and would like your help getting this video to the people of Japan.