Mosquito-Repellent Cloud Lamp

Define and Inquire

Day 1

Criteria/constraints I must consider for product:

1. Can this device transfer energy?
2. Is this device practical to students?
3. Is this device durable, safe, and sustainable?
4. Can this device be built within 3 classes of 75 minutes?
5. Are the materials available at the ISB design lab?
6. Is this product original?
7. Is this product appealing to students?

Some of my ideas included a toy car, a toy gun, electric mixer, and a lamp. But here’s how I was only left with a lamp through process of elimination:

1. They all meet criteria one: a toy car and a nerf gun converts elastic energy to mechanical energy, sound energy, and heat; an electric mixer converts electrical energy to mechanical and heat energy; a lamp converts electrical energy to radiant and thermal energy.

 

2. A toy car and a nerf gun are eliminated because they are not practical to students’ lives.

 

3. An electric mixer and a lamp are durable, safe, and sustainable.

 

4. A mini electric mixer and a lamp can be built within 3 classes.

 

5. An electric mixer requires a wire whipper, which the ISB Design lab does not have. Through process of elimination, my only option is a mini, electrical lamp.

 

6. Though a lamp is unoriginal, I could be creative with its design.

 

7. Yes! A lamp can be both aesthetic and practical in students’ lives, so it appeals to students.

Target:

Before I sleep, I turn my room light off and look at my phone on my bed for 10 minutes. I don’t turn my room lights on because, one, I don’t want to snuggle out of my blankets and, two, phoning in a dark room shuts my eyelids much quicker.

But staring at my luminescent phone in a pitch-black room sores my eyes. So, I need a dim- even better, aesthetic-lamp.  This lamp will not only be specific to clients with such conditions as mine, but the product serves to produce a small light source, protects eyes when using electronic devices in the dark, and illuminates a mood in your room.

I scoured the internet, keeping in mind the four criteria of a lamp design I wanted to meet:

Moderate Luminescence:

A night lamp cannot be brighter than my study lamp or the room lights. Specifically, its brightness should around 25% of that in Apple devices.

Controllable:

To save electricity, I must turn off this lamp before I sleep. Thus, this lamp must have a switch so that users can shut off light.

Eco-friendly:

My prototype should recycle materials and avoid using too much energy. Thus, I would use LEDs in place of incandescent bulbs because diode light is much more efficient, power-wise, than filament light. LED bulbs “use more than 75% less energy than incandescent lighting”. Plus, they say eco-friendly is user-friendly.

Light:

I want my night lights to hang from the ceiling because that way I solely have to extend my arm to turn the light off and immediately fall asleep. To suspend from a ceiling, my night lamp must be light: the prototype should weigh less than 50 grams.

Aesthetic:

I like my room minimalistic and all-white. Accordingly, my night lamp should be either simple or colorless to complement my room’s atmospere.

My inspo board:

#1

This levitating cloud lamp captured my heart. It’s moderately luminescent, controllable, and aesthetic, checking off all my standards for a night lamp- it even harmonizes with my monochrome room. Plus, the ISB Design lab owns like nine 3D printers. Will I finally lay my hands on those hallowed instruments?

No.

While this device challenges me to uncover various gadgets, I think a levitating cloud lamp’s a little beyond for a fifteen-year-old to build within 3 classes. Take the body, for example. I have never learned how-tos of 3D printing, electrical circuits, and coding. Just grasping the foundation of this lamp would at least take two classes. In addition, this device is too heavy to swing and its cloud would not float due to the stronger gravitational force when suspended. Lastly, I probably would not be able to find those materials, as I do not even know what those gadgets are . However, above all, the most underlying “con” is the constraint of time.

So, cross this one out- keep the clouds, though.

#2

 

DIY Mushroom Lights

I LOVE THE MUSHROOMS. I also like how this bark lamp has mini mushroom lanterns lit up by each LED wire. Specifically, this engineer wired each SMD LED light with an electric circuit to a single battery and varied the length of electrolytes. I think this division of electolytes from a battery is what gives this lamp the perfect moderate-bright for late-night phoning. Hence, this mushroom lamp inspired me to connect varying lengths of electrolytes to LED lights.

Yet, these lights seem too heavy to suspend from my ceiling. Moreover, it is not sustainable and mushrooms do not complement my room’s minimalistic aesthetics. I mean, silicon resins and artificial bark? Though its over-the-top design is baffling, at least I took away from the tutorial to use SMD lights or use several electolytes.

#3

Sophie’s design stunned me. Her lantern ticked sustainability, moderate luminescence, control, and, most importantly, aesthetics. Also, I loved her simple source of light  – an LED light strip- and its minimalistic look. Her lamp inspired me to use LED lights or LED strips, which uses much less energy than that of filament lights.

But I decided to alter her design to meet my criteria. Because my lamp must hang from the ceiling, I would attach a string on top my lamp rather than “give legs” like Sophie. Other than that, I would change design of her lamp shade to a more simple design, say, a cloud.

What I did:

On our mini “fieldtrip to the Design lab”, I consulted with the design-lab coordinators and Mr. Hussack to ensure I have all the materials. Everything was sound. In fact, Ms. Tina bestowed me a WHOLE bag of Polyester Fiberfill. By the end of today’s class, I finished the “define & inquire” and partially the “Plan and create” stage.

Develop and plan

Day 2

Techniques I need to master:

Repairing electrical circuits

Resources:

How Batteries Work – Battery electricity working principle

Circuit Troubles (Basic Circuits and Common Problems)

6 Ways to Fix Broken Wires- Beginner Through Pro

Timeline:

Date	Goals	Achieved?
Feb 15 Day 0	Finalize product idea. Analyze 3 Diy lamps
Feb 17 Day 1	Make sure all materials are available in ISB Design Lab Replace unavailable materials Finish Blog post
Feb 21 Day 2	Absent for APAC
Feb 23 Day 3	l   Ask for approval from Mr.Hussack Start building!	50% Finished
Feb 27 Day 4	Absent for BEIMUN
Mar 1 Day 5	Finish cloud lamp Test product Ask for peer-feedback

 

What I did:

Before we set our hands into building our prototype, Mr.Hussack had to approve our design. So, I quickly sketched my little lamp with rough measures. I didn’t immerse myself into specific lengths and volumes because I knew my final prototype would transpire after lots of trials and errors through the building process.

As soon as Mr. Hussack gladly approved my design, I immersed myself in the materials station.

First, the source of the light vexed me. I knew I couldn’t just slide my fairy lights at home inside a plastic bottle as my YouTube tutorial told me because, well, that’s too basic.

Stressed, I skedaddled to Mr.Hussack and Mr.Fidler to hear their sage advice, and they suggested the following light sources.

Now I faced a dilemma. I could either meticulously plug the mini-LED pins in a “bread figure” or assemble a generic light bulb. But could I decipher the electronics language?

Stressed again, I surveyed through the materials boxes.

There it was.

AN LED STRIP!

I happily marched forward to Ms. Tina, one of the Design Lab crews, and (stupidly) asked if I could slice and slide a 10m light strip in a plastic water bottle.

No, I couldn’t cut a light strip.

Then Ms.Tina escorted me to one the Gray-Design-Lab drawers and handed me a mini light strip. It was broken, though.

Thankfully, Ms.Tina connected the detached positive wire to the battery within the rest of the class. Meanwhile, I cut a 50mm x 10mm rectangle on “top side” of my bottle to fasten the switch. (The top of the horizontal side is most ideal because that way we can conceal from the worm’s eye view)

And that was how I productively spent the science class.

Create and Improve

Day 3

What I did:

1. I smeared glue gun on the surface and fastened the “clouds” on the surface. I was surprised of how nicely the polyester fiberfill fastened the plastic bottle. I was about 1/8 done when I realized: I had not cut out the cap for cosmetics. Here are the side view and bird’s eye view with the cap:

2. Mr. Fidler sawed the lid off my bottle. Then I continued to attach and mend “clouds” on the surface. My cloud lamp was almost finished- I just needed a suspender to hang it on my celling.

3. I tied a thin rope on a halved popsicle stick. Next, I slid it inside the rectangular hole. Now I could hold my lamp without touching or damaging the clouds!

Explain how it works using science terminology

The electric circuit in my night lamp transfers chemical potential energy stored in the batteries to electrical energy through conducting electricity, which works by transferring electrons from a negatively-charged cathod to a positvely-charged anode. That is, when an external circuit connects the cathod (composed of graphite anions) to the anode (composed of zinc cations), the oppositely charged electrostatic forces of attraction transfer electrons, enabling an electric current to flow. This electric current is what lights up my LED lights. As electricity flows through the electrolytes into conductible wires in the light strip, the electrical energy from the bulb spontaneoulsy gets converted into heat energy and then into light energy.

A switch turns the light on and off through exploiting the consistent electric current until the battery runs out (of transferring electrons).  That is, a switch, sitauted between the LED lights and the battery, lights the LED lights on and off, interrupting the electron flow in the circuit.

Explain the areas you were successful in in the product/process

My night lamp turned out even better than how I envisioned it.

At first, my mind was blank about the light source- I thought all I had to do was fit in some fairy lights! But the fairy lights I had at home were too long- and I learned, you can’t cut an electrical circuit. So, I spent a lot of time researching and debating different light source alternatives.

After fruitful exchanges between my supervisors and fellow engineers, I landed on an LED strip, which was flexible and bright enough. But somestimes, the strip did not light up, despite me rigorously pushing the button. I knew I couldn’t always rely on our design lab supervisors. So, I learned the mecanism of an electrical circuit- how to fix, fasten, and adjust the circuit- through scouring google and Youtube tutorials. Now I can inspect for the cause of, and repair, the malfunction, whether that might be a faulty wiring, loose connection, water damage or improperly plugged-in battery.  I’m proud that I took time to consider sustainable light sources (than some fairy lights), and mastered the how-tos of an electrical circuit.

Plus, I’m very proud that I spent time productively and, therefore, finished my design and blog post before the 4-day break. I only had 3 days in the lab due to absenses for APAC and BEIMUN. Granted, fititng an LED strip in a cloud-adorned bottle is easy. But it was my thorough planning and reserach that enabled my lamp to materialize within 3 work days. Thanks to my meticulous reserach, I did not attempt ideas -say, the “levitating cloud lamp”- that would fail and, thus, take my time away. When there were some errors like my broken wire in the circuit, I sought the lab supervisors or researched the solutions at home. All in all, I attribute my cloud lamp’s success to thorough research.

Explain the areas you need to improve in the product/process

I need to work on the “create and improve” process- securing the “clouds” on the plastic bottle. While some of my fellow engineers complimented my aesthetic fluffy cloud, some complained to me that the glue gun’s nozzle was stuck with polyester and the glue gun station fraught with cloud stuff. Then I realized some clouds were plummeting from the bottle. So, I need to mend and squish the polyester more so that it would stick to the bottle.

Explain the impact of this project on our planet, and the potential client/consumer/audience.

Saves wasted thermal energy

My cloud lamp appeals to students who share a room with others, need light for small tasks,or want a moody vibe in their dark room. My mom, whom I share a bed with, sleeps at 10, while I sleep later to read. So, I cannot turn my room light on or it would disturb my Mom’s sleep. My cloud lamp not only dimly lights my study area, but also reduces thermal energy waste from normal light bulbs, reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants.

Recycles Plastic Bottles

According to the National Geographic, 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste had been generated…around 9 percent of that was recycled, 12 percent was incinerated, and 79 percent accumulated in landfills or environment. So, it is crucial that we recycle plastic bottles in our daily lives.

This interior of the cloud lamp is held by a used plastic water bottle, reducing the global plastic waste by 20 grams. Even lifting the plastic waste by 2o grams makes a difference towards a sustainable planet, as they say a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. My cloud lamp takes a baby step towards recycling, which when accumulated into a ton, conserves energy, reduces air and water pollution, reduces greenhouse gases, and conserves natural resources.

Saves lives of animals through killing mosquitoes

Initially, my cloud lamp was to save electrical energy in my room. But I wanted my lamp to be make an impact to our planet.

After surfing through the internet about lamps that help our environment, I came across a bug zapper. A bug zapper emits a UV light that “attracts bugs to the center of the device, where they’re electrocuted, usually between two metal grids,” enlightened The New York Times. Because of the irresistible lure of their light, bug zappers are incredibly effective at killing bugs.

Inspired by the bug zapper, in the very last minute, I’ve elevated my design to repel mosquitos.

Here’s my final desgin:

Correction: DEET indoor insect spray, not eucalytus oil

My upgraded cloud lamp makes an impact to the environement through repelling and killing bugs, whose bites can spread viruses like West Nile, Zika, dengue, chikungunya. In fact, according to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, mosquito-borne diseases kill some 725,000 people a year.

My bug-zapping lamp is an expedient instrument to exterminate mosquitoes; the UV light lures bugs into a cloud of bug spray, then the insect spray breaks the insects’ cholinesterase, which prevents their state of tetany, (continuous contraction) making flying and respiration impossible. In conclusion, though my lamp disables a living organism, utilitarinarily, it saves lives of animals. (Though Deet products on skin for extended periods of time can cause irritation, redness, a rash, and swelling, the CDC and WHO have confirmed Deet is safe for the environment, as it does not contain posinous substances)

Thus, my cloud lamp appeals to civilians in countries with over 100 malaria cases (per 100,000) or people who want to repel or kill mosquitoes.

Therefore, the impact of this night lamp on the environment is largely good because it saves electrical energy, uses recycled materials and repels harmful bugs from humans. Of course, this lamp is not 100% good for the environment: the lamp is powered through a single-use battery instead of renewable energy and if bug repellents wash into surface waters, they can poison aquatic organisms such as fish and crustaceans.

Works Cited