Weekly Updates

Week 1: During the first week, Group 9 met to brainstorm and discuss project ideas. Inspiration arose from the presentation on biomimicry and the dLUX lab, but the idea chosen was influenced by an interest in biodegradable materials. The problem being addressed is the overuse of disposable cutlery and other such products that do not naturally degrade in a short period of time. These plastic materials stay in landfills for hundreds if not a thousand years and they are made out of petroleum, which is a non-renewable resource. Group 9 proposes to address this problem by analyzing various compostable and possibly edible materials that could be used in place of plastic utensils. Through this research, a new material will be proposed that maintains the benefits of the materials tested while minimizing the deficiencies.

Week 2: During the second week, Group 9 met with Dr.Ellis to discuss updating the project to incorporate the topics of bioluminescence and compostable plastics, which were two topics that group members showed interest in. A new project was proposed in which a compostable plastic would be used in a bioluminescent light source. After initial research, it was decided that bioluminescence was not feasible for this purpose, but a new topic, compostable batteries, was discovered during the research process. Further research was done for this new idea, and it was decided that the battery would be made from PLA plastic and used to light an electroluminescent lighting tile that could also potentially be made from compostable plastic. A free sample of this plastic has been sent in the mail. The new proposal was outlined and further research will be done over the next week.

Week 3: During week 3, Group 9 visited the dLUX light lab and was provided with two sample CeeLites. Group 9 analyzed and researched the electroluminescent CeeLite over the last week to understand its functioning and determine whether or not the lighting fixture could be made from a biodegradable material and still function properly. Figures 1 and 2 are examples of the type of information Group 9 has gathered this week.

Figure 1. Voltage/Frequency Response of  the CeeLite

Figure 2. Panel Data for the CeeLite 7501 LEC

This lighting will hopefully be made to fit into a biodegradable plastic tile and be powered by the completely biodegradable battery. The functioning of the battery was also researched and materials were gathered. Enzymes digest the sugar and strip the polysaccharides of electrons, giving the solution a charge, and a cathode and anode are placed into this solution. Further research will be conducted over the next week to determine whether there will need to be a membrane included. An idea for a possible membrane includes a block of agar gel between the solutions. A new proposal was written for this new project, which includes a new timeline and budget. 

Week 4: During week 4, .stl files were created for the proposed battery casing design. These .stl files were printed using the 3-D printer in the Innovation Studio to create a prototype battery. These .stl files are shown in Figures 1 and 2. Materials were purchased and will be tested for use in the battery.

Figure 1. A .stl file for 3-D printing of battery casing

Figure 2. A .stl file for 3-D printing of the top of battery

Initial designs for the tiles were made in Creo Parametric with a nature theme. One design, a wave-inspired tile, is shown below in Figure 3. 

Figure 3. Wave tile design

This week, Melody continued to attempt to reach out to CeeLite companies to learn more about how the product works. The group hopes to learn more about the function of the CeeLite so that it may be programmed to flash on and off with a timer. This will enhance the functionality of the product.

Week 5: This week, the final 3-D printing was completed to produce a prototype of the battery casing that would theoretically be made from biodegradable PLA plastic if that were available to 3-D print with. Pictures of the 3-D printed parts are shown below. The lid to the casing will have to be reprinted as it was printed with larger dimensions than is necessary. 

Figure 1. 3-D printed battery casing and lid

More tiles are currently being designed, such as a cloud tile that could be used for lighting in a child's room and a "limelight", a design inspired by a slice of a lime fruit. These designs fit the nature theme of the tiles that will be made out of biodegradable, eco-friendly plastic.
Further experimentation with various enzymes and sugars that could be used in the battery was carried out, and materials for agar gel were gathered. Further testing and research will have to be done to find a solution that works for the bio-battery to function appropriately.
Finally, testing was done with an arduino board to program the CeeLite to turn on and off on a timer. This enhances the environmentally-friendly product as it prevents the lights from being over-used. The arduino has been successfully programmed, but further research will have to be done to find a way to use the arduino to manipulate the CeeLite.

Week 6: During Week 6, the first draft of the final report was written and handed in. The final report draft covered the technical activities made up the project, such as battery creation and testing, tile design, and CeeLite manipulation. The final report also discusses the final results of the project, such as a prototype of the bio-battery, a programmed CeeLite, and .prt files for the various tile designs. Further research and work was completed for the battery. Agar gel was created to create a barrier in the solution, and the battery was re-tested with this barrier to see if the functionality improved. The battery prototype is shown in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. Battery with anode and cathode

 More research went into the CeeLite and the Arduino, and it was discovered that an eco-friendly Arduino could be made with environmentally-friendly lead for the soldiers. The company that created the CeeLite was contacted again with various questions about the product. The CeeLite is shown below in Figure 2 powered by it's original power adapter, and in Figure 3 connected to the Arduino.

Figure 2. CeeLite with power adapter

Figure 3. CeeLite with Arduino Uno

Week 7: During Week 7, a second battery design was created so that it could be printed and used to test the battery in the actual setting that it would be housed in, rather than the cups that had been used over the past few weeks. The picture below in Figure 1 shows testing of the battery in the plastic cups. Figures 2-4 show the .stl files for the new battery that is in the process of being printed. The goal of the 3-D printing done over this week is to achieve better results by using the proper environment for the battery. 

Figure 1. Testing of the battery in a plastic cup

Figure 2. .stl file for the holed plate within the battery

Figure 3. .stl file for the battery cap

Figure 4. .stl file for the battery with slot for holed plate

More coding has been done this week. Over the past few weeks, a code has been written to flash the light on and off, but this week the code was enhanced to turn on and off at real time intervals, such as 6 AM and 8 PM. This code has yet to be finalized. It is unsure which of the wires on the CeeLite are the ground, the power, and the coding wire, so the Arduino has yet to be connected to the light in fear of a short circuit. Manufacturers of the CeeLite have been contacted, but an answer to this question has yet to be found.
The sample PLA plastic cups arrived, and they will be used to demonstrate a product that has already been successfully made using PLA. PLA can be formed into different textures, so that it may be used for a variety of purposes. The PLA cups are shown below in Figure 5.

Figure 5. PLA cup samples

Week 8: During Week 8, the second 3-D printed prototype was broken, so another version had to be printed. The "holed" plates were also not the right dimensions, so they will also have to be reprinted. This limited further testing, as there was no prototype to test within. Further testing on the voltage produced by agar was completed, and it was discovered that the agar had a greater charge than the solution that was planned to be the battery source. The agar is shown below in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Agar being tested for charge

New materials have been acquired to attempt to find which wires on the CeeLite are the power, ground, and information. It is still unclear which wire is which, so the Arduino has yet to be connected to the CeeLite.
Dr. Ellis provided the team with another sample of PLA plastic that can be compared to the samples sent by EcoProducts to show the variability in flexibility and texture that can be created out of PLA materials.

Week 9: During Week 9, the final prototype was created. The prototype consists of an outer capsule with a lid, an inner capsule that houses the agar and solution containing the sugar and enzymes. Holed plates allow for the charge to go through the agar and then there are wires for the anode and cathode from the solution and then out the cap.
Final testing was done on the battery and it was found that Sugar in the Raw is the best sugar to use to power the battery. Sugar in the Raw had the highest voltage at 0.28 V. Unfortunately, about 30 batteries would have to be used to power the CeeLite.
It was discovered that the CeeLite requires more voltage than advertised, so the Arduino was not actually able to supply this voltage, but the programming for a blink function and a real-time clock function was completed despite it not being able to actually connect to the CeeLite. The code for the real-time clock is shown below in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Code for Real-Time Clock

Week 10: During Week 10, the bio-battery and electroluminescent tile project was finalized. Group 9 worked on the final report and presentation in preparation for the end of the quarter. It was determined that the bio-battery made from household materials was unreliable and that bio-batteries created in a chemistry lab would be more feasible. More research should be done on bio-batteries, PLA plastic, and OLEDs as they are all environmentally friendly and can help reduce the amount of waste in landfills.