Drexel Smart House Blog » Projects

Home Depot Smart Home

Jay — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 03:33:34 +0000

Completed in November of 2007, the Smart Home was awarded a LEED-NC Platinum Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council for its excellence is sustainable design. Several sustainable systems are incorporated into the home including rainwater harvesting, solar hot water heating, photovoltaic power generation, a green roof, rain garden, energy recovery ventilator, and renewable and recycled materials. Alongside these systems, many innovative technologies developed by the students are integrated into the home including voice recognition systems, shower water heat recovery, and energy performance and water usage monitoring systems.

Continue reading at:Â Home Depot Smart Home

Renewable Energy Lecture

Andrew Cebulski — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:09:01 +0000

The Commuter Students Program Services and the Drexel Energy Club present a lecture by Dr. Richard Cairncross, Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering. Dr. Cairncross will discuss modern biofuels with an emphasis on his research into converting fryer oil to biodiesel and biofuels in the developing world. The event will be held on Monday, November 10, at 12:00 p.m. in Creese GSDC Conference Room D (Basement of Creese).

Monday, November 10, 2008
12:00-1:00 PM
University City Main Campus
Creese Student Center (32nd and Chestnut Streets)
GSDC Conference Room D

Refreshments will be provided.

For more information, please contact Lisa Leone at lml45@drexel.edu.

Sixth Annual Green Building Celebration!

Andrew Cebulski — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:21:25 +0000

Thursday, October 16, 2008 @5pm
The Comcast Center

Be apart of the excitement!!!Â This year marks our 6th Anniversary!Â It will be a festive networking evening celebrating the momentum of green building in the Delaware Valley. Come mingle with the who’s who of Green Building and celebrate the chapters tremendous success.

Liberty Property Trust is hosting this exciting event at the Comcast Center. Our event is open to the public and we expect approximately 500 guests from the design and development community.

DVGBC will provide horsdoeuvres and a cash bar.

Come see and learn about The Comcast Center – the newest, tallest and greenest member of the Philadelphia skyline.

Receive a copy of the Philadelphia Business Journal’s green building insert for their Real Estate edition.

Keynote Speaker Mark Alan Hughes, Philadelphia’s newly appointed Director of Sustainability.

Kick-off for the new DVGBC website and brand.

DVGBC’s Annual Leadership Award presentation

You won’t want to miss this event… Register Now!!!

Early Bird Registration is only $15 for students, $20 at the door! Click here to register

The event flyer can be viewed here.

Smart House Receives $20,000 Grant to Develop Product from CeeLite’s LEC Technology

Jameson — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 03:45:19 +0000

Drexel Smart House has received a $20,000 Product Innovation Grant from Pittsburgh based Green Building Alliance (GBA) to develop a product from CeeLite’s Light Emitting Capacitor (LEC) technology. CeeLite has been a Drexel Smart House partner for several months now. This grant allow us to work together to create an innovative product, not only for the Smart House, but also for people everywhere. The project overview is below:

“Drexel University is leading a team to use CeeLite’s LEC technology to develop a commercially viable lighting prototype for residential lighting applications that is cost effective, energy efficient and provides interior illumination with daylight qualities. Because the CeeLite LEC panel is a luminous surface, it is necessary to alter the perception of what constitutes a residential luminary, or light fixture, which will require a different methodology for lighting design itself. A well-designed prototype using LEC technology has the potential of being commercialized, manufactured and distributed for residential lighting applications.”

Dr. Gena Ellis, Drexel Smart House adviser and Interior Design professor, is the primary investigator for the grant. Faculty from the College of Engineering are also involved.

Students who may be interested in working on this project should e-mail info@drexelsmarthouse.com. The original announcement can be found here at GBA’s website.

IntelliSTRUT

Jay — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 15:58:59 +0000

IntelliSTRUCT is a research program run by SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture and funded by the Research Council of Norway.

The objective of the program is to develop intelligent ocean structures for fishery and aquacultural applications.

The scope is to combine the disciplines of hydrodynamics, structural mechanics, cybernetics and fish ethology to design structures that adapt to the sealoads and optimise the well-being of the fish.

Access this site at: IntelliSTRUT

First Wireless Power Devices Now Available

Jameson — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 18:27:08 +0000

WildCharge just opened their webstore today. WildCharge is the first company to introduce wireless power to the marketplace. The charging base and an adapter for RAZR cellphones are now available. You simply switch your battery cover on your RAZR with their replacement cover, plug the charging base into the wall, and set the phone onto the surface of the base.

This is just the first of several products coming out. Other companies will be coming out with chargers that can transmit power over short distances through the air. These solutions will not be ready for at least a few years though.

You can access the WildCharge webstore here.

Smart House: Your So-Called Sci-Fi Life

Jay — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 05:13:30 +0000

“Right now, “smart home” technology is available off the shelf; home automation enthusiasts have access to all kinds of gadgets that can make life simpler and more complicated. The key goal for home automation is to give the occupant total control over the house from anywhere. Most home automation devices require a central personal computer to provide control and to run programs. For instance, X10 modules plug into the wall and then communicate with a home computer, letting a person turn on and off lights and appliances via a Web site. There are quite a few sensors, such as cameras, motion detectors or water leak detectors, that can be used to monitor who is in your driveway, trigger exterior lights when people approach or constantly check for broken water pipes. Meanwhile, effectors can be used to automatically water plants, remotely raise and lower blinds, or feed your pets. Anyone can create the ultimate remote-control house, the only limit is your wallet.”

Read the full article in Popular Mechanics at: Smart House: Your So-Called Sci-Fi Life

Smart Home Technology for Aging

Jay — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 02:35:44 +0000

See an interestion presentation by Robert Roush at
Smart Home Technology for Aging in Place Longer and Better

AN ELECTRONIC ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING REPORTING SYSTEM THAT GATHERS AND REPORTS DATA ON ELDERS IN-HOME ACTIVITIES TO HELP GAUGE THEIR WELL-BEING


	R.E. Roush, D.M. Kutzik, A.P. Glascock., G.E. Boyajian. Texas Consortium of Geriatric Education Centers, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, rroush@bcm.tmc.edu; Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut, Philadelphia, PA 19104, DKutzik@aol.com and Anthony.Philip.Glascock@drexel.edu; Living Independently Inc
	767 Third Avenue, 20th Floor, New York NY 10017, boyajian@livingindependently.com.
	Gerontechnology literature reveals a variety of high-tech approaches to gauge the well-being of older people. Ranging from expensive “smart homes” to more cost-effective, simpler microprocessor-based systems, all are designed to help elders gain independence and to remain in their own homes longer than they might otherwise. The approach described in this paper is an unobtrusive, electronic activities of daily living reporting system (e-ADLRS). This system gathers data on the routine activities of elders — e.g., getting out of bed, going to the bathroom, preparing meals, taking medications — without altering the elders’ normal behavior. e-ADLRS establishes a baseline on elders routine activities and denotes any marked variations that may signal deterioration in function and health that could result in unnecessary institutionalization in a hospital or other care facility. Simple wireless motion sensors, along with a small computerized receiver, are used to collect data that are then analyzed and posted to a secureÂ central web site for viewing by the client. Clients — usually the adult children of frail elders living alone and at a distance, as well as LTC personnel — can be sent reports or alerts daily in the form of e-mail or phone calls. Presenters will report findings from focus groups and from data on the early use of this proprietary system developed by Living Independently; discuss indications for e-ADLRS; and reveal a range of benefits, including heightened feelings of security, to elders and their caregivers. Program model aspects and policy implications will also be discussed, especially those pertaining to how such systems can be offered across the range of elders incomes.
	Summary — This gerontechnology system gathers and uploads to a secure Web site data on the routines of elders in their places of residence. Clients, usually an adult child of the elder in question,– can be informed daily about baseline activities and any marked deviation from baseline that may signal a deterioration in function that calls for some intervention.

Winter Term Smart House Meeting

info — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 14:20:28 +0000

We had our first meeting of the winter term for Smart House last night and it was a good turn out. For those of you who couldn’t make it here is a brief overview of what happened:

Jameson quickly brought everyone up to speed on the mission and introduced the new website, blog and forum. We hope these will generate some new ideas and discussion, so please check back often. He also outlined the research projects we have setup and their application in the Smart House. Eric asked for help from anyone familiar with web-design, especialy anyone with a background in more complex techniques such as vector art or illustrator.

Aaron Sakulich then gave a quick talk on the history and importance of the Earth Cement Project, while requesting help from any interested volunteers. The job descriptions are listed in the previous post and remember if you have an idea for a project that fits, we can probably make it work. We are currently organizing it so can receive research credit for your work. This would also look great on your resume especially if you contribute significantly to a paper.

Eric discussed the reflective IR coatings project. This project is also very interesting, because initial results have demonstrated that introducing near IR scattering particles into a latex or acrylic base causes IR radiation to be reflected, decreasing the average surface temperature by approximately 20 degrees F. This unexploited technology has direct applications to exterior coatings that improve energy efficiency in the Smart House. Please have a look at Eric’s post below for more details and contact us if you have any questions.

Last, but not least, Jameson mentioned the biosensors project and the importance of health monitoring in our Smart Design. My personal favorite is the smart toilet. More details on this project should be forthcoming.

If you are interested in getting involved in any of the above research projects, please e-mail info@drexelsmarthouse.com.

-Chris