Alex Pawlowski

Welcome to my New Website

2015-06-18T00:00:00+00:00

Hey there. Welcome to my new website! In the coming weeks I hope to fill this space with some of the things I am working on as I tackle the Quals after our first year in the Bredesen Center.

I’d like to use this space to show articles of interest, that I first started with Closed Loop last summer and move forward with applications in R that I have been slowly working on that could have some cool uses. A lot of good news sites already cover the good releases, I’d like to explore longer pieces with some implications of new tech and mobility, where my interests seem to most align.

Thanks for stopping by!

Alex

Crowdfunding Can a civic campaign restore a rural community?

2014-11-11T11:02:00+00:00

Crowdfunding

It’s a word you see often next to: potato salad, new startups, mobile hardware, and new technology. It was even parodied by South Park this season. It’s been an innovative way for startups to get capital fast in addition to traditional routes of funding: friends, family, themselves, angel investors, and eventually venture capitalists. It by no means is a replacement for traditional funding but can help supplant stages of funding without divesting ownership of the startup. At the same time, growing infrastructure maintenance costs, public worker wage stagnation, decreased tax rates, and housing markets that have not fully recovered have seen public funds for public goods slashed to keep local and state governments solvent and operating. Projects in big cities like Portland, Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Miami have been realized with the power of crowdfunding as a way to overcome these challenges. But, little - if any - focus had centered on America’s small towns. Although we at Closed Loop have covered a lot about the large urban revitalization in the States, small towns remain a large part of the American identity, and for many parts of Appalachia, represent the remaining cultural identity and connectivity left behind as mines closed and money left. A project this semester at the University of Tennessee (that I am part of) looks to investigate whether civic crowdfunding can be a viable option to revitalize small towns and provide new opportunities to areas lacking many. You can find out more about the project and donate below!

[iframe src="https://www.indiegogo.com/project/copper-basin-3d/embedded" width="222px" height="445px" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"]

[caption id=”” align=”aligncenter” width=”588”] Copper Basin, Polk County, TN From Appalachian History[/caption]

Copper Basin

Since the first discovery in the 1840s until the 1980’s, the SE corner of Tennessee hosted at one time the world’s largest copper resource. By as early as the 1860s, the surrounding environment was forever altered with complete deforestation to fuel the ongoing copper smelting operation and complete vegetation poisoning from the heavy sulfuric content found in the local raw copper ore. Appalachian History provides an historical account of legislation that proceeded from the extreme environmental degradation that ultimately failed, 80 years before the enactment of the EPA,and allowed the mines to continue their operation. When the mines closed in the late 1980’s, with them left the area’s major economic driver and people with high paying jobs. As statistics for Ducktown, Copperhill, and Polk County show, their economies haven’t gotten much better. But, if you relied on statistics alone, you would completely miss the spirit that looks to change this area to not only attain the level of growth the rest of TN enjoys, but to leverage sustainability as a primary growth strategy to leap frog larger cities in sustainable development.

Ducktown, TN

Emblematic of the Copper Basin region, this small town of 475 hasn’t had a lot going for it, or reasonable chances to succeed. But Mayor James Talley has crafted a larger vision towards taking Ducktown along a sustainable path as a way to find an opportunity for economic revitalization and potentially a strength over much larger cities. On my visit last month to the Copper Basin, I got to see first hand, the work he and his town have put in starting towards that goal. Between a 28 kW solar PV array that can provide up to 40% of the town’s daily electric needs (with plans to expand to 200kW to go nearly solar), to two electric vehicle charging stations downtown. As seen below, they were quite impressive.

Blink EV charging stations find their way in Ducktown, TN site of my community revitalization project with 3d printing. #sustainable

A photo posted by Alex Pawlowski (@alexpawlowski) on Oct 10, 2014 at 12:50pm PDT

Solar Array Installation provides Ducktown, Tn (pop. 600) with 40% of their energy needs. #ruralrevitalization #appalachia A photo posted by Alex Pawlowski (@alexpawlowski) on Oct 10, 2014 at 12:55pm PDT

How you can help

Identified in a class project last year, contour crafting and 3d printing could serve as part of a larger strategy to increase core competencies that help Ducktown become a center of innovation in not only the greater Copper Basin, but of Tennessee as well. This crowdfunding campaign is the next step towards that goal. With a 3D printer available to students in the Copper Basing Learning Center, 3d printing concepts and prototyping can be integrated to enhance STEAM education, building future opportunities for students that may otherwise have not had them. In addition, 3d printing looks to augment Ducktown's larger green strategy to become the greenest small town in America. And that, could be quickly realized.

Vans Vans! Invading a city near you!

2014-10-03T07:45:00+00:00

[caption id=”attachment_295” align=”aligncenter” width=”700”] 2015 Ram Promaster City Van Source: Motor Trend[/caption]

If tomorrow everyone left their car in favor of a bike, rail, or a bus (or gondola, or streetcars in 5 cities where those exist), a glaring need would still find this segment on the road; whether in cities or in rural locations. That’s right I’m talking about the commercial vehicle market, and this week I’ll talk about its hottest segment (that didn’t exist 6 years ago in the U.S.): small vans.

[caption id=”attachment_292” align=”aligncenter” width=”696”] 2009 Ford Transit Connect Van (from The-Blueprints.com)[/caption]

What do you define as a small van?

Glad you asked. In 2009, Ford brought its European-produced Ford Transit Connect to the States selling 8,834 vans in 2009 to 39,703 in 2013. Based on the Ford Focus, Ford began selling it in Europe in the early 2000s (CO2 regulations, high fuel prices, and history of small spread out rural communities and tight spaces of London all but make it small van-centric or larger vans based on cars-centric), before finding its way here as a trial during the height of the recession when fuel was expensive and car sales were hard to come by, let alone the commercial vehicle market. After all, the commercial vehicle segment (especially on the lower end) has always depended on small businesses, which were the first to feel the real pain of the Recession.

[caption id=”attachment_293” align=”aligncenter” width=”700”] 2009-12 Ford Transit Connect Small Cargo Van | Source: wikipedia[/caption]

Small Vans are new?

Before 2009, the smallest vans general consumers and businesses alike could buy were short wheelbase vans based on full-size van platforms that were either paired with an old V6 or a large V8 engine, like the below Chevy Astro van.

[caption id=”attachment_296” align=”aligncenter” width=”700”] Mid 00’s Chevy Astro Van

Source: wikipedia[/caption]

For the average florist, distributor, or even repair service manager, these offerings well outdid their needs, which sparked a small niche of vehicles in the mid 2000s of panel converted car-based crossovers like the Chevrolet HHR and the vehicle it emulated the PT Cruiser. These vehicles provided the room these groups needed without the large payload capacity (they didn’t need) offered by small wheelbase full size vans. Instead of (city / combined / highway) 15/17/20 mpg, (adjusted for 2008+ EPA Maroney window labels) they got 22/25/30 mpg, an improvement of 1.9 gallons for every 100 miles travelled or 264 gallons of fuel per year (assuming they travel 14,000 miles a year with their van). With their fuel savings, they could keep their businesses in tact through the economic downturn and keep those savings to the benefit of their customers. Add to it a lower carbon footprint (as well as easier places to park and smoother ride), and many businesses found this small niche rather convenient. Although both the HHR and PT Cruiser would find their end due to uncompetitiveness with their main selling audience (non cargo van versions), the Ford Transit Connect created its own market share to grab this small but growing need that was never really realized in the marketplace.

[caption id=”attachment_297” align=”aligncenter” width=”1000”] Late 00s Chevy HHR Panel

Source: wikipedia[/caption]

A little thing known as the Chicken Tax and why it's hurting US consumers

Like any good economics class will teach you, new markets with relatively low barriers to entry don’t last long without new competitors entering, less they not be a totally free market. Well, as it turned out, there was a reason why this “untapped market” was left untapped: the story of the Chicken Tax. You can read more here about the Chicken Tax, but essentially it all started after WWII, where US chickens were finding their ways to European dinner plates, undercutting European chicken prices by a great deal. Europeans didn’t quite like it (they loved the chicken but ~~farmers~~ farming conglomerates found many friends in various government offices) and chose to restrict US chicken imports. President Johnson decided after 18 months of failed talks through Proclamation 3564 to impose a 25 % tax “on potato starch, dextrin, brandy, and light trucks, effective January 7, 1964.” This effectively killed VW Microbus (both van and pickup versions) sales among other European truck imports, as well as Japanese produced vehicles as well. As time has gone, all but light trucks have been repealed, and as Robert Lawrence, professor at Harvard specializing in international trade, postulated that the Chicken Tax effectively insulated the US from the growing reality outside of the US of small light duty trucks that would ultimately find their way to be successful today (delivering class leading space with more efficient powertrains).

Circumventing the Chicken Tax

So if a tarriff is still preventing the import of light trucks from other countries and no small vans are being built inside of the U.S., how are they selling here without a tarriff? Well, friends, let’s jump into the secret refitting that goes on to get a commercial vehicle to the States.

As this Wall Street Journal article points out, any Ford Transit Connect van that comes to the U.S. starts life on container ship from Turkey as a full passenger “wagon” - that is, there are seat belts, windows, and bench seats in the rear of the van. When they arrive in Baltimore, if that vehicle is matched to a cargo van configuration, the seats come out: the metal goes straight to recycling, and the seats become landfill cover. The expense (and carbon footprint) to ship back the components is way too prohibitive, whereas this reconfiguration is seen as cheaper. Rather sad isn’t it? Unfortunately, that is the reality for this growing segment. Why not build in the States you ask? Although their market is expected to grow from 44,000 in 2013 to 120,000 in 2017 according to IHS Automotive, this number pales in comparison to the expected 16.7 million vehicles to be sold this year and for this year or next, US production may not make sense (yet) for this vehicle type.

[caption id=”attachment_298” align=”aligncenter” width=”612”] ZipVan: Ford Econoline E150 Van Source: Author[/caption]

[caption id=”attachment_299” align=”aligncenter” width=”612”] Inside a ZipVan | Source: Author[/caption]

Small Vans: A Big win for Cities and Small Businesses alike: Vanshare!

Despite the Chicken Tax’s growing induced environmental problem, the small van movement has seen more entrants develop US versions of their European offerings to grab a small piece of the growing market. With better fuel efficiency, these vehicles provide better options for small businesses to move goods and services across cities and towns with better maneuverability and space density. While in the U.S., Zipcar offers vans (of which I have used personally to move myself from a summer in DC to finishing my last year of undergrad last summer), they are a fleet of Ford E-150 full size vans, and with the E-150 set to be phased out in 2015 for the new full-size European-designed Ford Transit, I would expect within 18 months to 36 months, ZipCar to offer small cargo vans as part of its growing ~~car~~ van share fleet. This could allow more consumers to get behind the wheel of a new small van and replace ungainly van rentals. Better yet, it could even promote further use of vansharing by eliminating the need for many to still need a car: transporting “stuff.” And with electric vans like the Ford Transit Connect Electric that was briefly sold during 2010, further technologies could find their way into this segment that could make a long lasting impact due to their lack of substitution by other transit means in urban city centers.

Small van offerings

[caption id=”attachment_301” align=”aligncenter” width=”900”] Chevy City Express | Source: Auto News[/caption]

2015 Chevy City Express / Nissan NV 200 (Chevy rebadged the Nissan NV 200 to get into the market quickly) More here

Chevy starts at $22,950 with 24/25/26 mpg More here , sister Nissan NV 200 starts at $20,720 also 24/25/26 mpg More here

[caption id=”attachment_302” align=”aligncenter” width=”700”] Ram Promaster City

Source: Motor Trend[/caption]

2015 Ram Promaster City More here Price and fuel economy TBA

[youtube id=”_cBkvtOMzAk” align=”center” mode=”lazyload” autoplay=”no”]

Next Time...

With the small van market expanding, maybe so can the midsize pickup truck market? Abandoned during the recession by the Big Three citing “consumers would spend a few thousand more for a full-size truck anyway,” this market has remained stale ever since, with the only two offerings: the Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma using underpinnings at least a decade old(!). Add to it an unfavorable position on the CAFE mandate, and you find a disappearance of a market that is far more loved than the industry believes consumers will respond to. Chevy and its upscale counterpart GMC have released the new Colorado/Canyon (the models it last had in the segment) to breathe new life and turn that previous sentence’s assumption on its head. Just like the small van market, it too was vastly crippled (and still is) by the Chicken Tax resulting in the present situation of “new” 10 year old trucks with no competition to deal with. (Not to put blame on Nissan or Toyota, but when the costs to upgrade said trucks without stiff competition outweighs the perceived sales increase, it takes a new (or in this case returning) entrant with new technology to take a risk and shake up the market, not to mention the fact that they cannot effectively sell their overseas trucks in the U.S.) I’ll take a look at what the Chevy / GMC twins show promise and how that too could change the landscape of the urban environments, especially in pickup truck dominated urban markets like Houston and Dallas, or add to ZipCars carshare fleet. In addition, I’ll look at key features that could turn around the full-size mid-size debate.

Bike Smart; Find your place on the road

2014-09-26T08:20:00+00:00

Last week’s terrible news in New York City of the death of Jill Tarlov resulting from a bike-pedestrian collision - whatever the cause - found the usual corners of the biking debate. Regardless of the actions of both of those involved, no doubt in countless conversations off of social media and the internet at large, cycling as a community took a hit far larger than the NYC bike community itself. From the successes that the Climate Action grassroots movement achieved this past weekend with the People’s Climate March, the urban biking community interweaves a large subset of this now mainstream visible movement

You yourself may find that the community you are in, whether topologically challenging or road width / bike accommodation deficient, have a role to play in your community about promoting bikes far beyond a cute obsession but a sustainable mobility alternative. Much like other social phenomena, bad experiences lead to social prejudice, and rightfully or wrongfully affect judgement when you are out on the road. Bicycling Magazine last year put together a great list of staying safe in traffic written from an ultra-cyclist’s (first North American man to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour de France in 1986) perspective that actually captures great tips to be on the road. I will add one, here:

Just Bike, leave entitlement at home. (Don't be a ____)

Far too often I hear from conversations or the tones of many cycling related articles or comments that bike riders people encounter act entitled to the level of a “me-first” attitude. Because as I stated before of social phenomena, this attitude becomes a prejudice that many times over ruins the gains the cycling community makes in local communities and eventually into the national spotlight.

How this changes is a better awareness on the road that can only happen with large events aimed at bringing the largely non-riding public with the cycling community through civic sponsored events, non-profit organized rides with police, and local bike shops being elevated into the community spotlight as partners in moving forward toward this social change and encouragement of car-less trips.

How do we start, you may be asking. Like any grassroots event, start with existing local events that feature space to table and an audience of non-bikers and bikers a like that would find a social ride interesting: maybe you coordinate with a local group and start with the local police to integrate a skills-based class with a larger fun social ride to take over a few city streets in coordination with an existing event. Farmer’s market (if those are regular in your area) are a good place to start, because they often attract a diverse audience who is amenable to social gathering and experiencing new things.

For all of this work, bike riders, non bike riders, city planners, and local law enforcement can have positive conversations and better understanding between sometimes opposed groups, while also helping to address cycling’s paradoxical racial and socioeconomic divide again born from cultural prejudices towards bikes as a “toy”, cars still considered as status symbols as wealthier people in urban settings reduce their car dependencies, and “white, entitled” “cyclists” - who may happen to be riding expensive bikes - giving little courtesy to others.

[caption id=”attachment_284” align=”aligncenter” width=”600”] Share the Road : A Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition’s program to educate bike riders and motorists.[/caption]

A helpful way to avoid entitlement is to keep an idea of your place on the road and more importantly, keeping an idea of the social goodwill that you as a bike rider hold for everyone else in your community. As a bike rider grows more comfortable with the area, it may feel easy to take control of the road and go about your way as we feel equal to a car driver on the road. What we should keep in mind towards the overall goal in the sentence above, is that we are sharing the road with other traffic, or sharing a multi-use trail / sidewalk (where permitted) with pedestrians. Just as you in a car wouldn’t cut someone else driving a car off, or tailgate, or hold up traffic, the same applies to you as a bike rider on the road. If I am going up hill (which is often here in Knoxville), I know that my speed is going be to rather substandard to flowing car traffic even on the quiet roads that I actively seek on my commute to school twice a week, so I will try to be as far to the side of the 2 lane road as I can be, looking ahead for any obstacles (glass, potholes, manhole covers) that may need me to navigate around. On downhills where I will be approaching the speed limit of the quiet road I have chosen, I will move slightly to the left - still no more than 3 feet away - to just ensure that people do see me and that when they do I can feel good that I have helped to raise the social capital of the burgeoning bike community here in Knoxville.

Another useful tip highlighted in the Bicycling article is that road awareness should always be on your mind. Even if you are rightfully able to ride through the green light while a pedestrian tries to cross or a get nearly cut off by car turning in front of you, always keep in the mind that just as driving a car, being defensive rather than always opportunistic keeps not only you safe but others as well. With modern distractions taking away pedestrian and driver attention from the activity they be should concentrated on, as you are riding think about those situations that could arise and give yourself options if you need to make an evasive maneuver. While the facts that led to Jill Tarlov’s death still remain unclear as the investigation continues, and I will avoid any speculation, it serves as a critical message of what can happen even if all of the steps I have outlined here are followed.

Be predictable

Overall, if anything is to be surmised from this reminder, it is that the social chain of the advances of the biking community as a subset of the greater climate action movement depends on each and every bike rider. To keep that chain growing and unbreakable really does take care and thought, even if it slows you down by 30 seconds. No one wants to be involved in a bike accident, and while as seen recently these steps in themselves can’t prevent everything, when a future incident like this unfortunately occurs, the story headlines won’t be “Cyclist kills pedestrian” but rather an “Accident Involving a Cyclist and Pedestrian results in death.” And don’t get wrong, 1 death / injury is 1 death /injury too many no matter who is involved, but our nation’s urban mobility lies in the balance of this social chain that we as bikers must uphold to reduce the barriers to entry and have a lot of fun with a growingly diverse set of fellow bike riders to enjoy the ride with.

A Vision for what bikes could do for urban mobility: A New concept for the Urban Tricycle

[vimeo id=”103315894” align=”center” mode=”lazyload” autoplay=”no” aspect_ratio=”16:9”]

Now, one concept that I think will end up being great towards seeing bikes as highly usable mobility mode comes from the added benefit of another wheel: a tricycle. Much like the 3-wheeler article I wrote several weeks back this concept uses two wheels in the front and one in the back, greater for carrying a payload that usually justifies why you would want to take a car rather than yourself. As showed in the video, however, it has a cool trick like the Toyota i-Road we shared 2 weeks ago in that the front wheels tilt, delivering a turn-in feel of a bike that we would normally ride. We’ll keep on eye on this project to see if it is able to make it to market, but for more info for now, check out this great CityLab article on it.

[caption id=”attachment_288” align=”aligncenter” width=”620”]<img class=”size-full wp-image-288” src=”http://closedloop.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/4ac0ae74a.jpg” alt=”Payload Capability of the Kiffy

Agence 360” width=”620” height=”519” /></a> Payload Capability of the Kiffy

Agence 360[/caption]

As Sheila mentioned Wednesday night, we have switched days, so expect to see my columns now every Friday, and these next weeks I’ll be giving some more insight into the project of the Copper Basin in SE TN / N GA. Please like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, if you haven’t already.

3D Printing’s Sustainable + Open Source Revolution

2014-09-17T08:15:00+00:00

It’s no secret that 3D Printing - Additive Manufacturing - is enabling a technological shift in how engineers envision new designs and overcome previous limitations. Look no further to last week, where Local Motors printed their Strati - a 2 seat electric car (drive unit, motors, etc not printed, rather from a Renault Twizy) and assembled nonprinted components in just 44 hours on the show floor at the International Manufacturing Trade Show in Chicago. It was their third print of a Strati, a process that they have been perfecting this spring and summer at NTRC of Oak Ridge National Lab.

[youtube id=”daioWlkH7ZI” align=”center” mode=”lazyload” autoplay=”no” aspect_ratio=”16:9”]

[caption id=”attachment_263” align=”aligncenter” width=”760”] Local Motors Strati during Printing at IMTS in Chicago.[/caption]

As you will come to learn, in typical Local Motors fashion, the Strati’s design started off in a worldwide contest where designers and engineers from all backgrounds submitted CAD models of their designs, with engineers at Local Motors and fan response determining the winner - and ultimately the final design. The Open source nature that launched Local Motors into the spot light with its first vehicle: the Rally Fighter and with subsequent products that they have released. Local Motor’s YouTube Channel further fulfills its open source nature with 1-3 and 5-7 minute videos detailing stages of oncoming projects as they happen, unlike any traditional automotive manufacturer. The result? Delivering products to consumer without the traditional waste of automotive manufacturing methods (which are vastly superior to those of even 2 decades ago with strong Kaizen programs) leading to a direct energy and environmental impact reduction. This is advanced manufacturing at the cutting edge of what is possible afforded - for the moment - at the corporate and research level.

GrabCAD's contribution to the 3D Printing Community: Social Equity + Free Collaboration

Just yesterday, GrabCad was purchased by one of the largest 3D Printing Companies in the world: Stratasys, who for the consumer market bought Makerbot last year. Grabcad is a free file collaboration repository that has over 1.5 million Engineers and over 500,000 CAD models ready to be downloaded by users and browsers of the site alike. I personally have used it to import directly into CAD assemblies for various projects and hold an active account. What GrabCad does for sustainability - now strengthened by its acquisition by Stratasys - is put 1000s of files collaboratively built by a global community for free access to print parts and models (not all models are for printing, but various software packages can easily convert models into printable files) with nothing more than an active internet connection. This helps to provide equity in access and help pave the way towards greater equity in printing, something that is still in the hands of upper middle class first-adopters and early mover corporations.

[caption id=”attachment_265” align=”aligncenter” width=”349”] 3D Printed Dress [From 3DPrint.com][/caption]

3D printing allows for expression and creativity way beyond just the STEM emphasis

As lesson plans are developed to integrate 3d printing into k-12 education across the United States, and eventually not just in prominent school districts but lower income ones as well, students of all backgrounds will gain experience in using 3D printing to express their creativity as well as understand the greater freedom that multiple types of printing can bring. They will also learn about what limitations exist in additive manufacturing - for now - which seen with initiatives like First Robotics, Lego Leagues, and others help drive towards a future career leveraging 3D printing experience. And this won’t be just for the STEM crowd that the United States misguidedly overemphasizes at the expense of liberal arts [1], [2], [3], but can also find its way in the arts, as wonderfully exhibited in this summer’s NYU Polytechnic’s Masters Course in Computational Fashion, and many other areas as well. These creative directions will help to broaden the appeal of 3D printing and its uses and make its way into more hands across economic and ethnic groups.

[youtube id=”WwsOy3SP8ek” align=”center” mode=”lazyload” autoplay=”no” aspect_ratio=”16:9”]

With all of these parts being printed, what about the materials? Are we just wasting?

Finally, in the consumer market, PLA and ABS are the 2 most prominent plastic choices for the majority of plastic printers. As it turns out, PLA is starch based and most definitely can be composted; while ABS - typically fossil fuel based - can be recycled. This fact of generation of material and the world’s growing plastic problem hasn’t been lost on companies and entrepreneurs in developing nations to develop printers that can used a recycled feedstock. A group called the Ethical Filament Foundation has started to build an ethical filament production standard sourced from waste picker derived plastic recycling, much like other sustainable / ethical certifications. You can follow them @EthicalFilament.

With a project started last year between 3DSystems (Stratasys’s main competitor for largest 3D printing company), Coca-Cola, and will.i.am, the Ekocycle Cube 3D printer (based on 3DSystem’s Cubify Cube) showcases filament cartridges that contain 25% recycled PET content typically found in plastic drink bottles that Coca-Cola among other companies sell. While not on sale yet, will.i.am has already donated 2500 printers to First Robotics teams, further cementing a larger equity of 3d printing ability to kids across the United States to learn, create, and think creatively.

[youtube id=”iKPUErc2Jz0” align=”center” mode=”lazyload” autoplay=”no” aspect_ratio=”16:9”]

A quick scan of the filament cartridges that you can buy for 3DSystems related Cubify Cube highlights the biobased PLA color choices students and adults alike can use to print detailed models in their favorite colors. Tying it in with accessible software, and nearly anyone can design and create models, parts, and products with a simple $1000 home printer.

Stay tuned for an upcoming article on rural inclusion of 3d printing

As the heading suggests, in the coming weeks, I will show you an upcoming Indiegogo campaign that looks to raise funds for a 3D printer (both a Cubify Cube and hopefully a Makerbot Replicator 2) in a rural Appalachia in the Copper Basin in SE Tennessee. The campaign will help to serve a larger purpose to 1) develop skills in a disruptive technology in an historically impoverished region to develop greater sense of well-being and prosperity without the boom-bust associated with mining and 2) develop a model for civic crowdfunding in a rural community. With this project, I will help to provide real-world feedback of how these concepts I’ve listed here work and give a status on where areas can improve.

Ultimately, 3D printing is on a track towards reaching the “bottom of the pyramid” and also more of the middle than it currently is now, and with its application in a variety of fields, its promotion and inclusion of social equity and sustainability grows as the industry widens to the hands of more people. As these new ideas form and quickly become shaped by millions of new users, 3D printing technologies will continue to disrupt sources of innovation and add newcomers to a growing global audience.

Electric racing debuts this weekend; why you should care

2014-09-11T00:06:00+00:00

I know what you’re thinking. This is an urban mobility / sustainability focused blog, why is there a racing story here? Well, I did warn you, and I will owe you a story in the future about the benefits of racing in general to mobility technology, but take this a case study of racing’s technology transfer and public engagement at its finest. I am talking about Formula-E, the first ever all electric racing series with real drivers and very real electronic technology delivering 150 kW (202.5 hp) in an 888 kg (1958 lbs) single-seat package. While the power to weight ratio is low compared to other racing series, the advantage of electric motors is their maximum torque at zero motor speed, delivering instantaneous acceleration from a deadstop, propelling a formula-e car to 60 mph in 3 seconds, or half the time that you read this sentence. Big time names like Qualcomm , DHL , Michelin , Renault , and Tag Heuer have joined the development of the series while racing suppliers from the UK - McLaren and Williams provide the complex motor control electronics and battery technology to power the Dallara produced cars.

Drive the Future [youtube id=”qiIarZ9oUTw&list=UU-DuRqsBQOEk_5o1q4Ze-Fg” align=”center” mode=”lazyload” autoplay=”no” aspect_ratio=”16:9”]

The Ten Round Championship consists of 9 named city centers and 1 as-of-now-yet-to-be named location:

1: Beijing, China, Sept. 13, 2014 2: Putrajaya, Malaysia, Nov. 22, 2014 3: Punta del Este, Uruguay, Dec. 13, 2014 4: Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jan. 10, 2015 5: TBA*, Feb. 14, 2015 6: Miami, Fla., March 14, 2015 7: Long Beach, Calif., April 4, 2015 8: Monte Carlo, Monaco, May 9, 2015 9: Berlin, Germany, May 30, 2015 10: London, England, June 27, 2015

*(said to be between Atlanta [Editor: I really hope so], Vancouver, or Mexico City)

[caption id=”attachment_221” align=”aligncenter” width=”990”] 2014-2015 Formula E Racing Calendar (source: fiaformulae.com)[/caption]

Electric Racing in Metro Centers

Let’s take a look at the Metros that Formula E is hosting this inaugural season by income per capita and population density to get a sense for the areas where this technology will be seen first.

[iframe width="800" height="600" frameborder="0" seamless="seamless" scrolling="no" src="https://plot.ly/~ClosedLoop/24/800/600"]

While Carbon Emissions or Per Capita Energy Use proved difficult to obtain outside of the U.S., the below chart from the UNDP Human Development Report from '07 (via WithoutHotAir.Com) shows the general trend of increasing GDP and energy consumption country wide across the globe.

[caption id=”attachment_220” align=”aligncenter” width=”646”] Power Consumed vs. GDP (from 2007 UNDP Human Development Report produced by withouthotair.com)[/caption]

As part of the larger story of Formula E, how can many of the growing economies that Formula E visits improve their standard of living without raising their power consumption? How about reducing the power consumption of current economic powerhouses without pushing lower income groups out of their metropolitan areas like previous generations of planned and unplanned gentrification?

Turns out, Formula-E hired Ernst and Young to determine Formula E’s overall effect on the EV marketplace and its impact on the cities it visits: Formula E Value Creation

The highlights include Formula E significantly contributing to removing the market barriers towards EVs to generate:

€142 billion in extra world sales
52-77 million EVs sold around the world over 25 years
42,000 permanent jobs
€25 billion savings in healthcare costs from productivity from pollution reduction and significant quality of life improvement in cities

Plus:

$10 million / race weekend spent in local area by visitors
240 temporary jobs / race weekend

While the underlying assumption are unfortunately hidden behind the study, the overall benefit toward EV promotion will be large from these races in city centers. Along this train of thought, Formula-E’s biggest contribution will start with education and the development of infrastructure and technology that will be proudly displayed throughout the race weekends both in the propulsion / regeneration and charging. Take a look below about the Formula E’s link to roadcars and on wireless charging (including what they plan to do following each race weekend):

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[caption id=”attachment_225” align=”aligncenter” width=”990”] Click on the image to head to Formula-E’s website to look at each of the components[/caption]

Anatomy of Formula E:

With 45 minute races and the battery capacity limited (for now) to deliver 25 minutes of electric charge, drivers will be swapping cars mid-race in a timed process, not unlike racing back in the day when many championships around the world still permitted car swapping in the event of a crash or mechanical issue. As you heard above, soon the series hopes to employ a wireless charging system not unlike the work being researched at ORNL to re-energize depleted batteries without a physical connection.

[youtube id="GBmAUilQAl8" align="center" mode="lazyload" autoplay="no" aspect_ratio="16:9"]

This video below gives a good explanation of the progress Formula E has taken to get to this point with surely more in development as they look to open the car design up past this initial year to bring in new interests and live up to its development goals.

[youtube id="BS1ZP1I_9xM&list=UU-DuRqsBQOEk_5o1q4Ze-Fg" align="center" mode="lazyload" autoplay="no" aspect_ratio="16:9"]

[caption id=”attachment_223” align=”aligncenter” width=”800”] Electric racing debuts this weekend at a memorable venue - 2008’s Olympic Host Site: The Bird’s Nest in Beijing[/caption]

This Weekend in Beijing

As announced earlier this week, here in the States, Fox Sports 1 will be delivering live-coverage from Beijing at 3:30 am et / 12:30 am pt Saturday morning (3:30 pm local time) with a re-air during NFL coverage on Sunday the 14th at 1 pm et / 10 am pt. For practice and qualifying, you can follow @FIAFormulaE for practice and qualifying starting at 8:15 pm et Friday Night as well as the various Formula E teams competing.

Stay tuned throughout the weekend with us @ClosedLoopUS for updates on the race weekend as we try to highlight the sustainable benefits this new series will bring. As always, I’d like to hear your thoughts on this story.

Leave your thoughts below on the response you think Formula E will get at these large venues and some of the uses cities will have from the left behind charging stations following race weekends. What do you think?

Bike Share; Continued Growth in Bike Share Readies Acceptance of E-Bikes

2014-09-03T23:53:00+00:00

Although not in every state, bike share - also known as bike transit - is on the rise in the United States, as I try to show in the following maps and graphs with data from @beyonddc and earth-policy.org with Plotly. Sizes of bubbles are given by the number of bikes / stations respectively.

[iframe width="800" height="600" rameborder="0" seamless="seamless" scrolling="no" src="https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?q=select+col6+from+11Tegkj_XSGUiMEYJFBdFid2CJK80fEVTbxrch9bo&viz=MAP&h=false&lat=43.8487780761078&lng=-94.00228870629888&t=1&z=5&l=col6&y=3&tmplt=3&hml=ONE_COL_LAT_LNG"]

[iframe width="800" height="600" frameborder="0" seamless="seamless" scrolling="no" src="https://plot.ly/~ClosedLoop/16/800/600"]

[iframe width="800" height="600" frameborder="0" seamless="seamless" scrolling="no" src="https://plot.ly/~ClosedLoop/17/800/600"]

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[iframe width="800" height="600" frameborder="0" seamless="seamless" scrolling="no" src="https://plot.ly/~ClosedLoop/19/800/600"]

With the explosion of bike transit mainly concentrated around the coasts and large urban areas, it begs the question of where is transit going and can bike transit continue its large growth?

Exponential Growth of Bike Share: is it ending?

[iframe width="800" height="600" frameborder="0" seamless="seamless" scrolling="no" src="https://plot.ly/~ClosedLoop/23/800/600"]

As articles like this attest, bike share systems are a fundamental step towards larger bike acceptance in areas unlike Copenhagen and the Netherlands where biking is so deeply rooted in the everyday life, and electric bikes can help to bridge the gap of novice riders and experienced cyclists to flat and hilly areas alike. Meredyth already covered a lot of technological innovations to help reduce the costs and bring about larger adoption of electric bikes in the U.S.

An unconventional source turns to e-bikes for its mobility needs

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[caption id=”attachment_184” align=”aligncenter” width=”700”] General Motors’ new Bike Share system with e-bikes Source: John F. Martin from GM[/caption]

Just last week, General Motors announced the first ever bike share program for a U.S. automaker turning its 330 acre Warren, Mi Technical Center into an E-Bike Haven across 61 buildings using private bike share company Zagster, formerly CityRide. (You can find out more about Zagster’s business model and relative size (600 bikes in total) relative to Capital Bikeshare of DC (~1,600) and Citi Bike of NYC (~7,000) in a recent article by the Guardian.)

[caption id=”attachment_185” align=”aligncenter” width=”700”] Map of GM’s Warren Technical Center[/caption]

[caption id=”attachment_186” align=”aligncenter” width=”700”] GM Implements Bike Share Program At Tech Center Source: John F. Martin from GM[/caption]

The bike above uses a modest 600W motor and 48 volt battery to propel the bike decently along the mainly flat campus at the Warren Technical Center (schematic shown above) getting riders to their destination quicker and easier than driving or shuttling around campus. The bike’s electrical power are supplemented by solar panels on each docking station to keep their energy impact minimal (not to mention recovering some from braking). With its choice of an e-bike system, GM avoided segregating the use of its bike share to more fit people, but rather with the easy twist of an electronic throttle on the right and seven easy speeds for human powered pedaling, all employees can take advantage of the system should they choose to. Although GM requires helmet for obvious legal concerns, I think any unease that comes about from the policy will be muted at best as employees gain the benefit of a bit of exercise and enjoy the late summer and early fall weather on their journey from building to building. It remains to be seen, however, if the service will remain in use this coming Winter, or close for the season like Minneapolis’s Nice Ride. Then again, there are some brave souls from Minneapolis who seem to embrace to cold with fat-tire bikes and plenty of thermal layers…

A Larger Ideology Shift

As you heard in the video above, GM’s commitment to a new bike share system uncovers a larger ideology shift for the symbol of America’s 20th century. “Non-auto transportation” as some GM designers called it has become a larger part of their evaluation of their business especially in developing countries where crippling traffic brings mobility to a halt. As an automotive engineer myself, the greater question facing automotive transportation is not its disappearance but its restructuring into the larger mobility picture. With carsharing programs like Car2Go and Zipcar, ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft, and increasingly, growing bike share systems in dense urban areas pushing car ownership out from areas that really never could handle it to begin with, parking laws and rules will find the next axe to allow us to regain our open spaces in urban settings and with time and public funding turn dilapidated shopping malls into rejuvenated open centers that young and old alike will be attracted to - with or without a car.

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As the above videos show and a semi-successful beginning to a “cars pushed to the boundaries” city layout trail with Masdar in the UAE, bike share and its more equitably attractive cousin electric bike share have the real power of delivering the solution to the “last mile problem” in transit along with the aforementioned rise in ride sharing services. As cities look to either enter into bike share systems for the first time or to further expand their options to the public (and private institutions alike), further decreased costs in electric bikes and bike share technologies will make electric bike share systems more attractive especially in “vertically challenged” cities as bike share looks to spread inland from its coasts.

Of Course, Electrical Components Aren't Entirely Carbon-Free

Of course, as with electric vehicles, newer designs and implementations must remain cognizant of the sources that its components come from, as was studied in a 2009 report detailing electric bikes in mainland China with then Pb-based electrical components, as well as the energy they use to power them. We’ll take a look at that in the next coming weeks, but I want to hear your thoughts on where electric bike share systems should head next? Any personal experiences riding an electric bike share bike?

Three Wheeled Bikes A Novelty or a New Direction?

2014-08-27T16:38:00+00:00

While three wheel cars - or “bikes” as they are legally defined - are nothing new, see the Reliant Robin below that Jeremy Clarkson hilariously rolled in Top Gear, recent headlines show that 3 Wheeled Vehicles could be on a way for a comeback as safety regulations and fuel economy constraints outprice new commuters and performance vehicles.

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[caption id=”” align=”aligncenter” width=”1024”] Reliant Robin (Image by Flickr user Yaffa Phillips, used under CC License 2.0)[/caption]

As the above Reliant showed; however, a single wheel in the front can lead to some interesting stability issues with weight cantilevered on either side. With the exception of “trikes” or 3 wheeled motorcycles that you or I would consider a motorcycle, these new (and those still surviving) 3 wheel vehicles use a much more stable configuration of two wheels in front with one in the back. Tied with a small engine and a small footprint, the vehicles prove to be agile and nimble and can return great fuel economy. To that end, in the United States, 3 wheeled vehicles are considered motorcycles, which brings about an interesting result of that definition.

High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes

High Occupancy Vehicles (HOV) Lanes have been around the U.S. since the late 60s and early 70s in Northern Virginia having now spread to 24 states, broken up as follows:

[iframe width="800" height="600" frameborder="0" seamless="seamless" scrolling="no" src="https://plot.ly/~ClosedLoop/6/800/600"]

Unless designated as a bus lane only, no state in the U.S. with an HOV system has exercised its ability to preclude motorcycles from the lanes, citing the grand safety benefit for conventional motorcycles to ride in the HOV lanes. For autocycles and three wheeled vehicles, as it stands within these 24 states, they are eligible to ride in the HOV lane without any passengers, which could prove to be a large selling point for three wheeled vehicles. With recent shifts in more motorcycles on the road to combat high gas prices and to take advantage of the commuter lanes [1] [2] [3], 3 wheeled vehicles could a be more attractive option to inexperienced riders and those concerned with riding during rush hour alike looking to save money.

Helmet May Still be Required

In 1975, 47 states required motorcycle helmets while riding; that number has now dropped to 19 and the District of Columbia.

[caption id=”” align=”aligncenter” width=”695”] Law Requiring Motorcycle Helmet Use [Source: IIHS] [Editor’s Note: NH actually has a partial law for 18 and Under][/caption]While some states have provisions for cab enclosed 3 wheeled vehicles (21), many other states, at least by statutes, don’t make concessions for enclosed 3 wheeled vehicle pilots and passengers to not wear helmets as seen below:

[iframe width="800" height="600" frameborder="0" seamless="seamless" scrolling="no" src="https://plot.ly/~ClosedLoop/11/800/600"]

Of course, whether in practice that will be adhered to or those states will simply change the law remains to be seen. It also stands to reason whether any enforcement in those states would expose the “violation.” Similarly for non-closed three wheeled vehicles (those that do not have a roof) the result is somewhat slightly different:

[iframe width="800" height="600" frameborder="0" seamless="seamless" scrolling="no" src="https://plot.ly/~ClosedLoop/12/800/600"]

Overall, for the majority of drivers targeting a 3 wheeler (aged 21 and over) few states legally will require a helmet (or in the state of Delaware, helmets to be present but not worn (for any motorcycle/autocycle for some reason)), and that may change out of practicality if this small niche survives.

Enough about the law, what are the options?

[gallery ids=”133,138,137”]

Elio

[caption id=”” align=”aligncenter” width=”580”] Elio [Source: Elio Motors][/caption]In the average person’s budget and more likely to be considered as a commuter option, Elio Motors is set to release their vehicle at the end of 2015 to deliver a 2 person (passenger sits in the back) commuter for about the same price as a new motorcycle: $6800. With 84 mpg hwy rating due to its 0.9L three cylinder engine and somewhere near a 1200 lb curb weight, it has many things going for it and 29,500 have already preordered one. While physical crash tests and other things still have yet to be done, its success will ultimately hinge on how it is perceived and to which the founder Paul Elio points to as an alternative to a used car. As preorder sales come in, wealthier middle class and upper middle class buyers dominate the demographic mix which may change once the Elio starts selling in key markets around the country a la Tesla’s direct sales to consumer in many states. You can find out more here: [1] [2]

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Morgan

[caption id=”” align=”aligncenter” width=”976”] Morgan Three Wheeler [Source: Motor Trend][/caption]

Brought back to life 60 years after the last Morgan 3 Wheeler was built, the modern remake of the original Morgan 3 Wheeler is really all about performance, although its original model’s success hinged from avoiding UK’s car fees. As the Morgan’s history showed, all kinds of vehicles were produced during the design’s heyday between WWI and 1950. When Morgan (which had switched to producing four wheel vehicles after 1950) was re-introduced to the popularity of a modern Morgan done by the now U.S. importer Liberty Motors, it teamed with noted motorcycle engine manufacturer S&S to create the beast that you see here. With it’s $45,000 base price and minimal comforts, expect to see very few - if any - using this a “daily commuter”.

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2013 Morgan 3-Wheeler
Base price	$45,000 (MT est)
Vehicle layout	Front-engine, RWD, 2-pass, 0-door, roadster
Engine	2.0L/80-hp/103 lb-ft DOHC 4-valve V-twin (mfr est)
Transmission	5-speed manual
Curb weight	1200 lbs (MT est)
Wheelbase	94.0 in
Length x width x height	127.0 x 55.9 x 39.4 in
0-62 mph	6.0 seconds (mfr est)
EPA city/hwy fuel econ	N/A
CO2 emissions	N/A
On sale in U.S.	Now, to order

Polaris Slingshot

[caption id=”attachment_144” align=”aligncenter” width=”700”] Polaris Slingshot [Source: Green Car Reports][/caption]Surprising bike fans and car enthusiasts alike, this summer Polaris released the $20,000 Slingshot as a performance “side by side” for the road using a mix of car parts and a motorcycle rear end to deliver sport bike like feel in a stable three wheeled package. Although its open cockpit will require helmets (as seen in their marketing [by no accident]), a $20K base price may not necessarily price itself out of being a commuting option for upper middle class buyers if they want to use this for recreation as well.

[caption id=”attachment_145” align=”aligncenter” width=”707”] Polaris Slingshot Powertrain[/caption]

[caption id=”attachment_146” align=”aligncenter” width=”770”] Polaris Slingshot Underneath[/caption]

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Polaris Slingshot
PRICE	$19,999 (base), $23,999 (SL)
CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT	1666 lb.
LENGTH	149.6 in.
WIDTH	77.6 in.
HEIGHT	51.9 in.
WHEELBASE	105.0 in.
FRONT TRACK	69.1 in.
ENGINE	2384cc dohc inline-4
HORSEPOWER	173 hp @ 6200 rpm
TORQUE	166 lb.-ft. @ 4700 rpm
TRANSMISSION	Five-speed manual
BRAKES	11.7-in. vented rotors front and rear, ABS
STEERING	rack & pinion, electric assist
FUEL CAPACITY	9.8 gallons

While more expensive than Polaris's rival Bombardier's Can-Am Spyder's base price, the Slingshot proves competitive with the Spyder's more expensive options which can push into the $20Ks as well.

[caption id=”attachment_147” align=”aligncenter” width=”700”] Can-Am Spyder[/caption]

Summary

While still a far away from becoming a large vehicle niche, this bubbling emergence (especially the popularity in the recreational vehicle market of the Can-Am Spyder) of three wheeled vehicles has the potential to alter (for some) mobility patterns and may allow for some commuters to move farther away with the promise of smooth rides into and out of work or small trips solo.

With current regulations defined as 4 wheels for a car, 3 wheeled options could pave the way - mainly if Elio has some success - towards other city-focused cars, especially for ride-sharing services such as ZipCar or Car2Go if motorcycle license requirements go away for such “autocycles.” With reduced weight, less mechanical complexity, and to a certain extent a reduced crash structure requirement, these vehicles could help to reduce some of the fuel used by families in large metro areas while also forcing consumers to think about their vehicle choices and modes of transit more closely.

Three wheeled vehicles won’t replace conventional automobiles or take a large share of the vehicle market but will rather lead to smarter decisions by urban planners, automotive engineers, and families alike to define best capabilities of cars / trucks and where alternatives like 3 wheeled vehicles or electric bikes are better options to cars or other forms of transit. Some of this has already started in the U.S. due to gas prices and the Recession pushing consumers into smaller cars slowly as the car sizes they leave grow bigger and more expensive.

Ultimately, in some sense three wheeled vehicles are subject to becoming victims of their own success. Much like the original reason to buy a hybrid for the commuter lane [which in large metro areas first allowed anyone in a hybrid to drive the HOV lane solo, but quickly became overcrowded), if a lot of three wheeled vehicles populate the road, especially in the event of multiple accidents involved autocycles without care and design into car-level safety, it won’t take long for states and finally the federal government to classify these “autocycles” as automobiles. With the classification as an automobile, three wheeled vehicles will be subjected to the same rules and regulations that will nearly eliminate almost all of their benefits due to the increase costs and weight to meet safety and emissions standards. Until or if that happens, it will be interesting to see if Elio is able to attract new competitors to the market that it is creating (as an alternative to used cars) and how state legislatures respond to not only another automaker selling direct to consumer (foregoing dealers) but to one selling within a murky grey area that some states have yet to define. More than anything, how safety advocate organizations respond to the Elio could ultimately force the hand of state and federal regulators alike.

Sources for Motorcycle Helmets comes from the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and each state’s most recent version of their Statutes

The opportunities data science and 3D printing bring towards sustainability

2014-08-20T10:00:00+00:00

You may have encountered these recent buzz words: data science (big data) and 3d printing, and topics that more often than not media outlets tend to report: security and safety. While we have heard the stories of Facebook running a social experiment on the ethical edge or every gun that has been 3D printed, it is easy to miss the larger picture of what we could gain. And while each topic typically doesn’t cross paths with the other, I believe there lies an opportunity to exploit one for the benefit of the other. In the coming words, I hope to give an insight on why sustainability is important to me - where and how I hope to align myself - and why in the coming weeks you will find posts from me about technology on a sustainability focused blog.

Data Science

As evidenced by this recent article, Data Science is a rapidly growing high net worth field that has been created solely out of the availability of cheap, rapid computing and cheap, accessible data storage. Don’t believe me? Amazon a 1 TB hard drive and come back to me. Or sign up for an account with OneDrive, Google Drive, DropBox, etc. Universities - including my alma mater the University of Virginia- are quickly getting into the field to educate post bachelors (and indeed post master’s and PhD’s) with the skills and traits necessary to understand and conceptualize a data problem - a problem whose answer requires a careful analysis of available data. In engineering, or more recently the Humanities, technical experts and newcomers alike are exploring what can be discovered with the tools from larger and larger data sets. Of course, as with any trend, there are important pitfalls to overcome, as evidenced by these two articles: [1] + [2]. For sustainability, keeping traps in mind, data science backed by fundamentals of understanding the system can provide great visualizations as evidenced by the great work of users of the site Plotly, which I hope to be using in future articles.

[iframe width=”800” height=”489” frameborder=”0” seamless=”seamless” scrolling=”no” src=”https://plot.ly/~cimar/233/.embed?width=800&height=489”]

[iframe width=”800” height=”421” frameborder=”0” seamless=”seamless” scrolling=”no” src=”https://plot.ly/~RhettAllain/131/.embed?width=800&height=421”]

3D Printing's ties to Sustainability

Where I feel Data Science will come into play with 3D printing is in the feedback from sustainable production of not only products - and soon my area of vehicles - but potentially farming as well, to understand the impact of new processes and quantify it versus traditional methods. Farmbot, one group’s proposed solution to the increasing demand for food whilst minimizing the damage to our local ecosystems and ultimately our planet, starts life as a large format 3D printer combined with sensors to more carefully control the growth of crops / gardens. You can find out more about Farmbot here and in the video below.

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While the Farmbot has a way to go and brings up important issues about the role of technology and data overload to our food system - although the Green Revolution long ago started that conversation to the detriment of our environment to the expansion of our society - Farmbot provides a perfect intersection of these dissimilar areas coming together to help solve problems and anticipate new ones. Its open source hardware and software approach put the emphasis on the solution to large varieties of scale to the problem of hunger at the cost of environmental degradation from rooftop gardens to massive “Farm Inc.” size plots over the potential for money first, environment later.

In the coming weeks you will get to know my transportation tendencies and shared values in mobility and efficiency, and I hope to bring into the discussion of typical topic areas - electronics, business, and data analysis - that you don’t typically see on a green blog to tie back into the larger focus of sustainability. Closed Loop’s interdisciplinary nature allows for this freedom and I am excited to see where it all goes. Because for me, the interconnection of disciplinary foci is what makes finding creative solutions to sustainability so rewarding. The people you meet along that journey provide great opportunity to tell stories and keep improving solutions, which I hope to recreate with my posts for this blog. Please leave comments below for your ideas of this possible interconnection of data science and 3d printing or your thoughts on Farmbot and similar new environmentally-focused farming technology.