At a glance
This project draws on interdisciplinary expertise and creativity in developing luminaire speed bumps powered by solar energy… Read full summary
- Funding received
- 2018-2019
- Large
- Awarded
- $28,100
- Funding partners
-
- Services and Activities Fee (SAF)
This project draws on interdisciplinary expertise and creativity in developing luminaire speed bumps powered by solar energy to sustainably and innovatively improve safety at the University of Washington (UW) Seattle Campus. Ultimately, we want to implement the highest performing prototype to the most trafficked, least illuminated paths on campus to keep students, faculty, and staff safe. Addressing the UW’s Campus Landscape Framework objective of creating connections across the “mosaic†of the Central Campus, this prototype will improve circulation through an iconic landscape, create a unique experience, increase safety, and create opportunities for collaboration between students and industry partners.
A hybrid solar system, meaning a system that can be both off-grid and grid-tied depending on conditions and need, will be used to power luminaires embedded in a temporary, modular speed bump. This reliably improves safety and visibility without permanently changing roadways. The modular configuration also facilitates maintenance and flexibility.
These speed bumps would be located at different points of the Burke Gilman trail so when feet, wheelchairs, or bicycles pass over them a sensor will be triggered and spot illumination will be delivered almost instantly. The greatest load to pass over these speed bumps will be small campus vehicles, materials will be selected based on their load carrying capacity.
This project draws on interdisciplinary expertise and creativity in developing luminaire speed bumps powered by solar energy to sustainably and innovatively improve safety at the University of Washington (UW) Seattle Campus. Ultimately, we want to implement the highest performing prototype to the most trafficked, least illuminated paths on campus to keep students, faculty, and staff safe. Addressing the UW's Campus Landscape Framework objective of creating connections across the "mosaic" of the Central Campus, this prototype will improve circulation through an iconic landscape, create a unique experience, increase safety, and create opportunities for collaboration between students and industry partners.
A hybrid solar system, meaning a system that can be both off-grid and grid-tied depending on conditions and need, will be used to power luminaires embedded in a temporary, modular speed bump. This reliably improves safety and visibility without permanently changing roadways. The modular configuration also facilitates maintenance and flexibility.
These speed bumps would be located at different points of the Burke Gilman trail so when feet, wheelchairs, or bicycles pass over them a sensor will be triggered and spot illumination will be delivered almost instantly. The greatest load to pass over these speed bumps will be small campus vehicles, materials will be selected based on their load carrying capacity.
Lorenzo Guio
Project lead
- lortero@gmail.com
- Affiliation
- Student
Janie Bube
Team member
- bubej@uw.edu
- Affiliation
- Student
Imagine you are a student, it’s a dark and damp rainy Seattle night... you are tired from studying all week and are hurrying to get home. You step out into an ordinary crosswalk at the corner of a sharp bend in the road. A car swerves to avoid you, as you are nearly invisible in the darkness. This story and many like it show the importance and necessity of safer crosswalks. Our project idea stems from this need and desire to make commuting by foot, bike, bus, or car as safe as possible.
Overview
This project draws on interdisciplinary expertise and creativity in developing luminaire crosswalk pavers powered by kinetic energy to sustainably and innovatively improve safety at the University of Washington (UW) Seattle Campus. Ultimately, we want to implement the highest performing prototype to the most dangerous crosswalks on campus to keep students safe. Addressing the UW’s Campus Landscape Framework objective of creating connections across the “mosaic” of the Central Campus, this prototype will improve circulation through an iconic landscape, create a unique experience, increase safety, and create opportunities for collaboration between students and industry partners. The primary project team includes masters and doctorate students from the College of Built Environments and College of Engineering (throughout the phasing process, more team members will be added, including undergraduates).
Optimization of infrastructure is a traditionally complicated endeavor. Collection, transmission, and distribution are common obstacles to utilization of revolutionary renewable energy. By directly integrating energy collection into the object it powers, these obstacles are overcome and the system is much more efficient and accessible to consumers. Microgenerators harnessing kinetic energy are in development and could be used to power paver luminaires, improving safety and visibility without depending on the power grid. Additionally, the implementation of this project would create an opportunity to improve stormwater management at intersections throughout campus. (Future phasing of prototypes might integrate stormwater detention mechanisms that can manage runoff and improve water quality in surrounding bodies of water).
Sustainable impact
Environmental
Our prototypes promote renewable and alternative energy by creating an off-the-grid kinetic energy mechanism that runs the LED pressurized systems during the low-light to dark hours of the day.
Socioeconomic
Thinking long-term, we are hoping to create a prototype that will be marketed to all of the UW campuses and the city of Seattle, particularly in marginalized communities.
Cultural
A culture of road safety for all modalities should be created. Pedestrians are as entitled to safety mechanisms as drivers or bicyclists.
Student leadership and involvement
We are advocating for student involvement at every point and every level of the project. It is a student run team that is designing for students. We are inclusive, always willing to include other disciplines and expertise. We are proposing a phased strategy that will provide students the opportunity to engage in project development, business planning, and product fabrication.
Education, outreach, and behavior change
Behavior change: Providing luminous circulation and connection throughout the UW campus, regardless of weather conditions or damage to the grid, will likely help pedestrians feel more secure and independent, while cyclists and drivers will be alerted to movement around them.
Outreach: This project will provide the student team first-hand experience in product development, fabrication, and implementation. It will support the efforts of the university to improve the campus’ experiential qualities; update, control, and maintain campus lighting; and ensuring that campus users feel safe. As these concerns are currently addressed separately by the Campus Architect, Operations, and Police Department, a consolidated and self-sustaining response would aid in honing their work.
Education: Students will be exposed to unprecedented sustainable technology applications and the learning opportunities that come with its operation. Additionally, the larger UW community will act as a testing ground for revolutionary infrastructure. The system will need to be inspected and maintained, this too will provide data collection and technology optimization opportunities. This project also builds on the Campus Illumination Roadmap previously supported by Campus Sustainability Fund, and could be included in their research.
Feasibility and accountability
The project team would engage with the Office of the University Architect, the Campus Engineering and Operations Office, and UW Faculty from the College of Built Environments. There is also potential for engagement with Seattle City Light.
Funding would be invested in developing prototypes of our product. The project team would fabricate as many components as possible, but may need to reach out to local manufacturers of structural glazing systems.
Estimated budget
The implementation of this project includes building and testing multiple physical prototypes which we estimate to be $100,000. The budget components are detailed below:
- Electrical/Computer/Controlling backbone components: $10,000
- Mechanical/Chemical hardware infrastructure: $50,000
- Lab/test instruments: $10,000
- Structural glazing and frame system: $30,000
Project timeline
Our phase one of the project is planned to be carried out and completed in one year.
Within this year there are three phases:
- Technical studies: Currently underway. We will continue this phase until final project approval and if need be, into the prototyping phase to ensure the highest levels of performance in the prototyping.
- Prototyping/Testing/Troubleshooting: This phase is planned to be initiated upon the approval of the proposal and the fulfillment of necessary financial supply. This phase is expected to be completed within six months from the start, with all the prototypes tested and evaluated under real operation conditions, and the highest performing one selected for campus implementation
- Implementation: This phase will likely pursue a later funding cycle due to the complexities of construction and implementation. During this phase, we hope to work with UW Facilities and Seattle Offices.
Team
- Janie Bube (Master of Landscape Architecture)
- Emilia Cabeza de Baca (Master of Architecture)
- Martha Hart (Masters of Urban Planning)
- Arman Rahimzamani (PhD in Electrical Engineering)
Request amount and budget
Problem statement
The UW campus has some paths where students feel unsafe at night due to poor lighting. Furthermore, due to Seattle’s weather and geographic location, it is often dark during key commuting hours. Campus safety for pedestrians is particularly important as many students, at UW and other colleges, choose walking as their primary mode of transit. Lack of safety in areas of high traffic, mixed-mode transportation can not only lead to physical injuries, but potentially a culture of distrust and fear detrimental to a sense of community or an atmosphere of solidarity. From a broader perspective, implementing adequate lighting infrastructure can be difficult in marginalized, low income, or rural communities since the costs of streetlight hardware, connection to the grid, and maintenance are often prohibitive. The expense of car ownership leads more people to walk or bike across longer distances, making safe crosswalks even more vital. Additionally, electricity from the grid can come from non-renewable sources, such as coal or natural, and it can be difficult for a local community to find an option for their street lighting that is powered by renewable energy.
Addressing sustainability
The utilization of LED technology results in greater longevity and energy efficiency, with less energy loss to heat, than other sources of light- providing adequate lighting for users without dramatically disrupting surrounding ecosystems. The lighting technology will harvest and store its own energy, releasing fewer greenhouse gases than coal-powered electric grids. The lighting system has the capability to rely on the grid in the event of solar power failure. The controller will need to rely on external power, which for the time being is grid-tied. This prototype will also address the social/cultural sustainability aspects of road safety. Currently, the impacts of a night time accident are disproportionately higher for pedestrians than for drivers or cyclists. By creating better lighting at crosswalks, safety is improved in a more equitable fashion,
regardless of transportation choice. Accompanying this technology is the need for education and training on its maintenance and benefits. This would allow open dialogue and information exchange, empowering communities and allowing the technology to be culturally relevant. Finally, while this project’s focus is to increase safe mobility, it will do so while ensuring environmental safety. In selecting products and materials, we will make our best efforts to exclude “Red Listed” materials. The Red List was developed by the International Living Futures Institute and catalogues chemicals known to have hazardous effects on human, animal, and environmental health, e.g. lead, BPA, cadmium, mercury, etc. We will consider the potential for off-gassing, leaching, or leaking when we develop the component. Toxicity is a great concern to the project team, and safeguarding against it for all direct and indirect users is essential.
Measure the impacts
This project will make use of a tool that is often used in sustainability evaluation: triple bottom-line analysis. The project will be examined according to its environmental impacts, its social impacts, and its economic impacts.
The main environmental targets of this project included reducing GHGs through alternative energy; consequently, we would like to estimate the decrease in GHGs caused by switching from a conventionally powered electrical to the new technology as closely as possible using available research. The prototype will be evaluated to see its positive benefits.The average monthly energy usage will also be calculated along with the efficiency and life span of the prototypes. Another key environmental indicator that will be measured is light output (in lux). The light output will then be used to determine the extent to which the prototypes reduce light pollution and to ensure that the light provided is not overly disruptive of animal habitat.
For the second portion of the triple bottom line analysis, a number of social indicators will be examined. We hope to conduct a survey pre- and post- prototype installation to ask students how safe they feel at the test locations and which mode of transport they use. This survey will be useful in prototype refinement and in ensuring that pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists all feel safe at the installation locations. We will also measure the number of accidents at the prototype sites to further evaluate safety, with a particular emphasis on pedestrians.
The economic impacts and economic sustainability of this project are vital, as the technology will hopefully be used both at UW, in Seattle, and in more marginalized communities. The costs to build and maintain the prototypes will be evaluated with an eye towards making the technology as cheap as possible while still maintaining quality and functionality.
Education and outreach goals
Behavior change: Providing luminous circulation and connection throughout the UW campus, regardless of weather conditions or damage to the grid, will likely help pedestrians feel more secure and independent, while cyclists and drivers will be alerted to movement around them.
Outreach: This project will provide the student team first-hand experience in product development, fabrication, and prototype testing (before proceeding down the implementation route). It will support the efforts of the university to improve the campus’ experiential qualities; update, control, and maintain campus lighting; and ensuring that campus users feel safe. As a team we have done individual, department, and mass outreach (not only to find more students to participate on our team, but also to bring awareness to this new safety approach). We have sent out advertisements for more team members to the Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS), Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW), the Mechanical Engineering Department, the Electrical Engineering Department, Applied Math Department, Civil Engineering Department, Construction Management Department, Computer Science Department, Materials Sciences Department, Architecture Department, Urban Planning: Transportation Planning, and the Landscape Architecture Department.
Education: Students will be exposed to unprecedented sustainable technology applications and the learning opportunities that come with its operation. Additionally, the larger UW community will act as a testing ground for revolutionary infrastructure. The system will need to be inspected and maintained, this too will provide data collection and technology optimization opportunities. This project also builds on the Campus Illumination Roadmap previously supported by Campus Sustainability Fund, and could be included in their research.
Student involvement
We are advocating for student involvement at every point and every level of the project. It is a student run team that is designing for students. We are inclusive, always willing to include other disciplines and expertise. Additionally, we envision the long-term management and maintenance of this project to be conducted and funded by the work of a future student team. There is potential for this to be carried out in an interdisciplinary studio similar to the McKinnely Futures Studio offered by the College of Built Environments.
At this stage of the project, we are looking for undergraduates and graduates that are interested in the development and prototyping of the project (see outreach section above). Though, we are a team predominantly of graduate students and PhD students, we offer a unique opportunity for undergraduates. If we were to have interested undergraduates in the fields mentioned in the previous section on Outreach, we would offer a mentorship component to the project, especially if they are at the beginning of their university experience. We would then benefit from a fresh perspective and they from experience. We are hoping to foster relationships with UW Solar and Engineers Without Borders. In this way, we are truly inclusive.
In terms of affecting students, faculty, and staff at the University of Washington, as previously mentioned, this project will increase safety and awareness of pedestrians at crosswalks. This is a large issue with a large rippling effect of behavior change. We want our campus to be as safe as possible.