OTHER BLOGS

Some of us, as groups are creating new blogs specific to our design scenario.

Please post in the comments section your groups blog so that it can be added to the links.

Cheers.

Week 6 (W6) 30.08.06 Discussion

Notes taken from whiteboard after Damien's demonstration

1. SHOW (EV COMMUNICATING)
- how it works
- why it works
- what are the benifits of doing... " "

CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS:

Controls:
- Go and Woe
- Accelerator
- Brake and Steering
- On/Off
- Head Lights
- Hand brake

Displays:
- Power level
- Speed
- Odometer
- Tacho? Gears?

N.B. displays can be made small
e.g. HONDA SPADA, VESPA, VW BEETLE, MORRIS MINI

VIDEO FOOTAGE

Hey guys, i found this website whilst researching, it is the motherload of C.R videos.

Hope it can be of use.

http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/costa_rica/video/videos.htm

ENJOY

For next week (W6) 29.08.06

In your groups, organize your time plan and email it to simon.
Also, in groups begin work on the design of your EV!!!

Who said they cant use boats in costa rica??

Ok i'm just curious as to why they cant use boats in costa rica according to our last discussion?? When Wieke mentioned that most of the rivers are white water and too shallow, does that apply to most of the rivers close to towns? or all of them in general??

this is a pretty random video of some people who went to costa rica, and the vidio in the post below also shows them on boats...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaLabgZZY00&mode=related&search=

Interesting Vid of Costa Rica

Hey guys this will apply more to the Eco-Tourism group, but some of the footage maybe useful to the others, i know its very touristy, but take into consideration some of the terrain and nature they pass through

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nnkL7srCH0&mode=related&search=

Eco Tourism Group

Hey guys,
attatched is the link for the Eco-Tourism group. when i get a chance to type up the stuff we talked about in class i'll upload everything.

http://evo-tourismev.blogspot.com/

Week 5 (W5) 23.08.06 Discussion

Class notes, and group scenarios.

Groups 23.08.06
Scenario groups for the rest of the semester:

R E S C U E
How can a vehicle save lives and rescue people?
Andrew // Mario // Edison // Phillip

C O M M U N I T Y (Family/Public transport)
Can a vehicle help a community form?
Shae // Wieke // Johnason // Kevin

A G R I C U L T U R E (Farming)
How can a vehicle be an industry?
Robbie // Scott // Daniel // Lindsay

E C O – T O U R I S M
Can a vehicle cater to environment and Tourism?
Brendan // Tan // Mike

Requirements:

a) Cost As determined by the industry, economy and skills of the people
b) Rugged As determined by the geography and population
c) Costa Rica
d) EV

Weekly class structure:

First Hour: Group presentations
Second Hour: Simon’s presentations
Third Hour: Discussion
Forth Hour: Planning

For next week (W5) 23.08.06

WEEK 5

For next week, KNOW what it is you want to achieve from this studio.
also...
Do ten (10) pages of sketches for each design requirement scenario.

Seven scenarios

1. Zero footprint vehicles (not damage things when it goes places)
2. Rescue vehicles/ Service vehicles (water storage)
3. Cars that do not crash in the first place
4. Family vehicle, Community Vehicle
5. Farming and Agriculture vehicle
6. ATV
7. Public transport

AMBULANCE REQUIRED EQUIPMENT

I'm looking into the Rescue vehicle at the moment, and I found this - This s the minimum an ambulance has to have on it.

Maybe we could find a way to work this in.

http://www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/_Rainbow/Documents\medical/V30%20Minimum%20Ambulance%20Equipment.pdf

Mario

Project Plan

Hey guy's I made an excess spread sheet of what we discussed in class. I took the liberty of filling in some of the ways we could do some of the design phase. What do you guys think? Feel free to add comments and things that should be added etc. (not too spesific though)If you would like a copy of the file, i will distribute it to the class.

http://k.1asphost.com/bren517/Tico%20Project%20Plan.jpg

Agriculture & Farming Vehicle Requirements

requirements for farming and agriculture vehicle are listed on the comment's

feel free to add/discuss

robbie m & daniel e

EV FILM / DOCO (2006)

A poster from a movie/doco released this year, I am sure some of us are aware of this or have come across it with our research. Enjoy



A few links.
1. footage (trailer) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjwEj2xkC_4&mode=related&search=

2. film site: http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/electric.html

Lindsay ::

For next week (W4) 16.08.06

Simply team up with your TICO partner and develop a list of requirements in the same fashion as done in class. Then post it on blog so that everyone can see...

RESCUE VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS

Please find in the comments section, requirements regarding the Rescue Vehicle scenario.

This will change up until class on Wednesday. (16.08.06)

Lindsay T and John H ::

Family Vehicle Requirements

Hey guys, our Vehicle Requirements for the family Vehicle are listed in the comment's section.

Requirements for Vehicle:

Meets Costa Rican Vehicle Standard and requirements
Seating capacity for typical family 2-5 members
Ability to increase capacity for addional members (optional)
Able to accommodate potholes and rough roads
Luggage/Storage (Shopping, etc)
Appropriate Headlights and indicators
Compact(parking)
Weatherproof
Durable
Parts easy to replace
Minimal theft
Maximize Safety for paggengers (accidents, adult and child restraints)
Low cost
No oil
Low emmisions

Additional requirements for Rural areas:

Shelter in natural disasters
Adaptable to terrain ( Cross Rivers / Over obstacles )
Muddy Terrain


Other Secondary Issues :

Alternative means of fuel (solar, hydroelectricity, wind)
Cheap to run
Stimulates social interaction for passengers
Entertainment (Radio)
Learning centre
First Aid

family Vehicle

Tico's going to church on the family vehicle.

family vehicle

Here is a picture of a family going to church on their family vehicle, a three wheel tryke. I thought it was interesting as this is a complete constrast to how Australians veiw a family vehicle.

Week 3 (W3) 09.08.06 Discussion

Apologies for the late post...(phone lines have been down in my area)

Please find in the comments section, class notes taken from WEEK THREE (3)

Cheers Lindsay ::

Found this in the newspaper...

Hey guy's i thought this might be of interest to everyone..i found this in the age, its a 79' Landcruiser that has been converted to not only drive like normal, but to run on the train tracks as well using a hydraulic system. It is used to repair train tracks around australia.

Posting

Hey guy's this is just an idea, but i'm wondering what you guys think about a system within this blog of information...some parts seems like an information overload.

What i'm proposing is that when we wnat to post somthing, we can write a breif description about it in the "post" and in the "comment" section you can dump the huge ammount of information you would like to share.
Within this comment section it will also enable each other discuss about that informaiton as well..

Anythoughts?

Conserving?

http://www.conservecostarica.org/
http://www.conservecostarica.org/about/fincadossemias.html

Browsing, found these.

Mars.

I N D U S T R Y

Hey guys!

I sent all INDUSTRY group members an email...

Cheers, Lindsay ::

Schedule

Hey there guys, I'm noticing problems in contacting each other over the week while we are not in class.

Is there a mutual time where we can meet for a little bit to all discuss progress?

This isnt compulsary but I think it'll help out alot in this phase of the project - seeing as though each part of the research is linked to another topic.

I'm free Thursdays all day.

Let me know if you all wanna do a catch up session an what days are good for you so we could perhaps work that out. An hour or so could go a long way.

Cheers,

Mario.

Costa Rica Coffee and Fair trade

Here is some info that may be useful about the coffee indusrty in Costa Rica:

Isabel and Adolfo, Costa Rica

Raw coffee beans, better known as red cherries.Photo: OxfamGB.
Isabel and Adolfo are married with four children and are aged 31 and 32. The couple cultivate coffee and rear cows for milk and cheese on their two-hectare farm. Coffee provides 70%of their income.
”If the family stays together, it protects the children.”
Adolfo and Isabel are passionate about their children. They want to give them a good education and also want to preserve their close-knit family life on the coffee farm where each child already has his or her own little patch of coffee plants.
“I hope consumers will buy more Fairtrade coffee so we can maintain ourselves like this,” says Adolfo. “If it wasn't for Fairtrade, with prices so low at the moment, we would get deeper and deeper into debt. I know other producers who are getting into debt. Some abandon coffee altogether and then the father seeks work in the city or in a hotel, or in the United States. When that happens the family is split up. If the family stays together it protects the children against problems such as drug addiction.”
Adolfo and Isabel are members of Coopeldos which exports part of its crop to the Fairtrade market. For these sales, the couple get a price guaranteed to cover the cost of production.The rest of their crop, however, attracts a much lower price.
Coopeldos would like to export more to the Fairtrade market but there’s not enough consumer demand yet.
All groups of small farmers who supply to the Fairtrade market must be organised in a democratically run group like Coopeldos. Adolfo's father was one of the founders of the co-operative 30 years ago. Before this, farmers sold to private middlemen and had to go to San José to get paid. This involved two days of travelling and it could take up to six months before they were paid. The co-operative pays farmers on the day they deliver their crop.
Fairtrade farmers stories courtesy of the Fairtrade Foundation, UK.

http://www.oxfam.org.au/campaigns/mtf/coffee/stories/index.html

People Group

Hey there favella. :)

The "People" group consists of:

Mario
Kevin
John
Brendan.

Please email me on mario@reepa.com and we can discuss what to do.

Sorry for the lateness of this post, I've just become an uncle. Photos are on my blog :P

Mario.

NGO's

Howdy, to all NGO's. Here is a list list of some organisations to start researching that simon gave me:

Also, my email is listed below if you would like to contact me so we can begin dividing up the areas of reasearch

s3080564@student.rmit.edu.au

Some areas to research;

Oxfam
Fair trade
UNDP
WFP
Design Advocasy
Designers with Borders
DFAT -Australia
WTO -World Trade
Cow Banks /Caristas Australia
Child Rights
Travel Smart
Greenpeace + Conservation

I N D U S T R Y

I n d u s t r y g r o u p
Lindsay Thebus
Robbie Mc Innes
Edison Lau
Michael Denham
Daniel Effendy

Group members please email:
turretdesigns@hotmail.com

To get in touch through email and
discuss/divide what we need to do.

Cheers Lindsay ::

This is a nice link for everyone

http://www.infocostarica.com/general/

Hey guys, i found this link to a web site that has a lot of useful information in general in the "articles" section. It covers:
-General
-Nature
-History
-People
-Places
-Weather
-Education
-Culture
-Government
-Sports
-Retirement

From what i can tell, most of the information is on track with what others have brought up in class.

By the way, check out the maps section. Very interesting, as it has many differnt styles of maps

For next week (W3) 09.08.06

Meet up with group members and gather/collate information about your topic.

** Also sketch your ideas of what the ev should be, get them out there and out of your system.

T e r r a i n
Andrew
Tan
Wieke
Phillip
John lin

P e o p l e
Mario
John
Brendan
Kevin

I n d u s t r y
Lindsay Thebus
Robbie Mc Innes
Edison Lau
Michael Denham

N G O ' s
Shae Higgins
Scott Smith
Phillip E

Week 2 (W2) 02.08.06 Discussion

2.08.06 week 2 IN-CLASS NOTES

In class notes (whiteboard), derived from discussions.
(Information not taken from in-class presentations.)

Costa Rica
- budget focused on education instead of military
- highest literacy
- $ 3000 annual income

Type of vehicle:
- low priced 4wd (drive to all four wheels)
- farming (export, agricultural, goods)
- transport (public)
- tourism (Tico/as)
- hazards
- ATV (all terrain vehicle)
- xtreme

Items of concern:
1. ticos have small incomes
2. corporate agriculture
3. charity, NGO’S
4. religion

Group research:
Terrain local, provincial terrain e.g. width of roads (turning circles, parking (urban)) conditions of roads

Terrain:
Volcanoes
Rainfall
Industry
Agriculture
Geography and climate

Regions were national parks are, major cities, major arterial roads (tourist transportation)

Misc:
Bauxite
Walking tractor (smaller footprint)
> http://cellar.org/iotd.php?threadid=1741
> http://www.plustech.fi/Walking1.html

AFTER OUR BREAK

MICHAEL SAID we should design an everybody vehicle
MARIO SAID we can’t!

Transport and technology and car designs
Platform, modularity

BRENDAN SAID some ideas are good
SHAE SAID we can’t have one vehicle to cater for each scenario, it is better to cater for each market/situation and individual and specifically designed vehicle.

Research
Develop Refinements
> FOUR QUESTIONS
Design
Evaluate

IF THE PEOPLE IN THE LOWLANDS STAY IN THE LOWLANDS AND THOSE IN THE HIGHLANDS STAY IN THE HIGHLANDS DO WE NEED AN ATV

DO THIS PEOPLE MOVE AROUND A LOT ? IF SO HOW FAR? FOR AGRICULTURE, INDUSTRY OR DOMESTIC? IF NOT, DO THEY EVEN NEED AN EV, RATHER A SYSTEM…

INDUSTRIES SET UP CLOSE TO TRANSPORT_
Those who are in the highlands, isolated are the ones who need the most…

Transporting crops a requirement
Road train concept (lead vehicle is driven)

This week, draw what you think the vehicle should be! Put the ideas out there; get them out of your system.

Four categories of research:

Terrain
- climate, how it effects terrain
- physical conditions
- maps
- regions/provinces
- road conditions, how accessible they are.
- where the people are
- where the roads are
- transport infrastructure
- how and when it changes
- seasonal information
- gridded population

Industry
- is there a bauxite mine
- where is the mine
- agriculture
- what is the major source of revenue
- what industries are there, where?
- How do they transport goods?
- Distribution of goods (import)
- Who owns industries
- how many are employed
- where are those whom are employed situated
- is there a transient workforce, seasonal workers…
- what are they importing and exporting
- if goods are not exported where are they going?
- What’s there capacity to build cars… are there adequate facilities
- How big is the electronic stuff they are building
N.B if you can make cars, you can make tanks
- train, rail networks?
- what are there resources

Tico / Tica
- community
- where do they live
- what is there lifestyles
- percentages of whereabouts’ people live (pie graph)
- how much they travel
- status / socio economic position
- things they do
- cultural calendar (Chinese Calendar)
- what do they do for fun, recreation
- attitude towards technology
- who are the most hated, poorest, who gets the roughest treatment, who is the lowest of low…
- $3000 annual income, where does it go
- crafts
- who makes up the “higher class”
- are they safe drivers

NGO’s
- who is operating in Costa Rica
- what is there charter
- how much money goes in and comes out
- whom are the allied with
- what do people want from there government
- peace core, communities helping other communities
 volunteer
- “Wolfing” work on farm and get provided accommodation and food
- tourism industry
- human rights charter
- what causes the road accidents according to the government, are they educated about driving.
- Are they cynical about there government? Do they support there government.
- DFAT
- Costa Rica trade deals