Tega Brain – solar powered media project

After we received our initial order of components, we came together to assemble our first benchtop prototype, which in this case is more of a “windowsill” prototype, consisting of a 50W PV panel, a processor (we will be comparing a few different single board devices), a charge controller and batteries and all the supporting hardware needed to get this hooked up and functioning.

Components of solar powered media — Components

In regards to the processor, we are looking to try the OLinuxino board from Olimex the same board that the Low Tek Project employed. Given the latest announcements that there is a new Raspberry Pi 4 AND that the Raspberry Pi Foundation website is actually hosted on a cluster of Pi 4s, we are looking to get our hands on one and test both the Pi 4 and our favorite Pi 3 Model B+.

All components connected — Functioning Prototype

window prototype — Solar Powered Media Prototype

We were super excited to get one prototype up and running and are now working on getting the software installed on the single boards we have currently while we wait to get our hands on some Pi 4s. Stay tuned!

My thesis work (Fall 2018 – Spring 2019) focused on the intersections of solar power, aesthetics and education. There were 3 primary aspects of this. I was interested in understanding the history of this space, identifying gaps in existing educational resources for specific users, and I wanted to create resources to address some of these gaps. My thesis paper included a writeup of the historical content and discussed my research and user testing of the educational resources I had created.

The three user groups I was interested in were artists, designers, and educators. These three groups were chosen because of the high level of overlap between people in these roles, the similarities in the challenges they face in relation to PV, and the relatedness of the resources they could all benefit from. I also had experience working in all of these contexts, so I had a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities in these spaces.

In the time since the invention of the modern photovoltaic cell, artists and designers have been exploring the aesthetic possibilities of the material. In that time there had never been a comprehensive interdisciplinary cataloging of this history, which limited the ability to build awareness of the field and has made it difficult to create a community of practitioners. In part because of the lack of historical knowledge and the inherent difficulties with working with a light dependent power supply, very little educational content existed that specifically addressed creative applications of photovoltaic solar power.

To address these gaps I created a publicly available web-based education platform that included an archive of creative applications of solar power and educational resources like tutorials.

http://www.solarpowerforartists.com

Author: Tega Brain

Physical Prototype Installed

Alex’s Thesis Work