we are designing a system inspired by the ISS, and using NASA and other agency's atmospheric data and adapting it for cheap and easy use in homes, cars, lorries, workplaces and for personal wear.
The first step in our approach to the challenge of purifying the air supply was to brainstorm ideas and requirements for possible solutions. We decided it had to be a cheap yet effective purification system that is easy to construct and can filter out most viruses allergens and pollutants. Then we decided on the general purposes of our solution as a group, there was a general consensus that we could have two similar systems, one for buildings and other similar spaces and one for personal wear and usage. We then split off to work on the individual components. Trevor made a physical prototype, and Paul got deeply involved in making the software run on both the prototype and possibly the final version. Wendy made some drawings of the conceptual final product and worked on the data visualisation for the system. Liam and Askaino set up and made the website for the project. Liam also did some amazing work on making the presentation for the final solution.
The Initial Focus
Purifying the air. Well, it is certainly obvious our atmosphere could do with a little purification. The quantity of noxious fumes we emit into our precious atmosphere is nothing short of scandalous and has been for a long time. Now we are also hit with a pandemic that is keeping us locked down in our own homes, for the most part. Like our atmosphere in the general world, the air in our own homes can become stale with a less than desirable mix of gases.
A Design Framework
The initial idea was for a filtered recirculation of the room air. Pulled into a duct, pushed through a filter, and then emitted close to the floor to mingle with room air again. In a similar style to the way, the water in large fish ponds is circulated, sanitised, and filtered. It has been known in the water treatment world that intense UV-C light will kill a wide range of bacteriological and viral lifeforms. Hospitals already apply the UV-C sanitisation for air in the intensive care areas. Thus, see if we could apply the techniques in a way that could be utilised in the home.
Data is a must
It was not going to be enough to just build a simple air purification system. In a world that adores data of all sorts, and because the air quality in the home is not measured that widely, we considered any purification system we build should have the sensor arrays necessary to provide such information to the wider analyst community. Maybe leading to better, healthier, home designs. Hence we added speed control of the circulation fan that would be driven by the measurements made at the inlet and outlet of the sanitised and filter system depicted. All data that was generated to the CSV files were from pseudo-sensors at this time, but the value ranges would be similar and the software could easily adapt to accepting real inputs instead of the simulated ones. The sensor simulators were adjustable for a range of readings, and the rate of variance applied from the randomiser.
Ongoing
Our initial efforts, due to the pandemic, were very much in the spirit of Apollo 13 astronauts having to work with what was to hand. Many of the components we needed would be on extensive delivery schedules at this time, instead of the few days of normality. Not able to arrive in time for this challenge. However, we see the benefit in making the design into a proper product instead of a Heath Robinson mishmash as it had to become at this time, to provide some proof of concept
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