Big data knows best

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

In 2012, as a student, I signed up as a human guinea pig for a neuro feedback experiment at the Danish Technical University, where 'we will study the effect of a neuro feedback by training the power in the upper alpha frequency band'. Over 5 days of one hour training sessions, I sat each morning in a dark, soundproofed room and looked at a bright laptop screen displaying small block patterns. It looked like a slow motion version of Tetris in zero gravity. A wireless apparatus was placed on my head which contained sensors and these were reading levels from the upper alpha frequency band of my brain. The aim, as far as I was concerned, was to focus on the patterns and concentrate on thoughts which affected the blocks and changed their colour from blue to red. I found this very difficult and various thoughts on different topics, including eating food, playing sport, playing music, playing sex etc. resulted in inconsistent developments on the screen. A pre- and post-training comparison involved some visual problem solving and the thesis student I was working for hoped to show that cognitive ability can be improved with 'brain-training'. I, it seemed, had done worse as the week went on...but my low brain activity is not the focus of this article. Here, I will review some evolving technologies relating to big data including biosensors which can use your brain signals to operate electronics, online shopping websites which will deliver goods before you make an order and contact lens that can read your sugar levels.

Neurowear

Neurocam

In November 2013, I attended a lecture at CPH:DOX called 'Emotional Interface: Bridging the Gap between Physical and Digital' given by Tomonori Kagaya, founder of Neurowear at the Danish National Gallery. His group are developing commercialised neuro headsets including the award winning 'Necomimi', 'Neurocam', 'Zen tunes' and other electronic devices which sense changing frequency patterns in the brain to activate different gadgets. An interesting example is the 'Neurocam', which consists of a headset and camera. When we look at different things, our brain reacts; when we look at things we like, our brain will emit signals which are picked up by the sensor. As we walk down the street, the camera is activated when signals are emitted and then at the end of the day, you can look back over the images and be reminded of your exciting day. This gadget is tapping into the signals that we are sub-consciously emitting. If we bring that concept one step further, we could be seeing wireless sensors in the future that can sense changes in the signals emitted by our brains. Just like the evolution in broadband which saw WIFI replace the need for a physical cable connection, these gadgets will evolve to the point where sensors in our smart phones or other devices can read our brain patterns and a new big data source is born.       

Smart bio-sensor contact lenses

Smart contact lens

Recently, Google[x] labs released news about the development of a smart contact lens that can be worn by diabetics and could mean the end of pin-prick glucose level tests. This smart lens contains a micro-chip and glucose sensor which monitors sugar levels by taking readings from tear droplets and transmitting the data wirelessly to a nearby receiver. Another example of a smart contact lens currently in development is one which will allow doctors manage glaucoma, the second major cause of blindness in the world. The sensors in this lens can read the pressure within the eye and if the pressure gets too high (a symptom of glaucoma), doctors can be warned in advance and carry out corrective procedures. As the components in these devices get smaller, cheaper, more flexible and sensitive, they will become more advanced and begin collecting further information about our bodies to add to the big data machine.  

Buy before you try

Amazon have been developing a lean logistics delivery model called 'anticipatory shipping' which will use the consumer data they collect, including past buys, your 'likes' and even where you click your mouse on their website (mouse tracking), to predict future purchases. The patent for this process has been in development since 2012 and the system would work by sending out anticipated orders to unspecified addresses in the hope that purchases of that same product would be made while in transit. Then, in transit, a specific address would be given to the parcel and it would be delivered to the consumer in what would seem to be a very short period of time. If Amazon's algorithms improve further to take into account user trends, demographics, shipping costs and developing sources of big data, we could watch and enjoy a trailer of some newly released DVD, and 30 minutes later, it is in our hands.

Big decisions

Big data knows best?

The above technologies are described very basically to support my previous comments on big data and the future of how we make decisions. As further technologies emerge such as neuro headsets and smart biosensors, and algorithms continue to churn through the data collected by these devices, predictions made about our needs will be closer to the truth. As scientists and engineers continue to unearth more about how and why we make decisions, how could big data be used to satisfy our needs? As the feedback from our bodies and minds supplement any big data decisions made, we could be certain that big data is making the correct decisions for us but might we begin to rely on big data and other supporting technologies to the point that 'Big Data knows best? 

Let the games begin!

Spanner

It's 2014, I am 29 and looking forward to a new adventure this year; I will be moving to London to start my career as a grown up. So what better way to spend my spare time (after job searching of course, A-Kasse!) than to write about some things I have been excited about in the last few weeks. I hope to write about different things including the following over the next few posts:

• Python and learning code with Codecademy
• Rendering 3D models using Google Sketchup and Indigo
• Open Innovation Collective and collective problem solving (with emphasis on biomimicry design methods)
• The job hunt - am I the hunter, am I being hunted or am I waiting to be served?

They will be short and to the point, I promise.

Nature Calls

Inspiration from nature...

Biomimicry is a word which deserves more buzz than it gets these days. Biomimicry is the discipline of applying nature’s principles to solve human problems in engineering, business, architecture and potentially any other area. Biomimicry can create links between different disciplines as the 'all rounder' science where biologists, designers, innovators and economists can all benefit hugely from a little thinking on the wild side and embrace over 3.8 billion years of evolution. However, a challenge for those interested in biomimicry is tackling the huge world of information out there relating to the field including biology and chemistry. But fear not, although it can be a daunting task, there are sources out there to assist the budding biomimicist.

In 1997, Janine Benyus authored the must-have novel on the subject called 'Biomimicry - Innovation Inspired by Nature'. Since then, she is seen by many as the poster child for the implementation of biomimicry in design practice today. Her book covers many different areas including agriculture and architecture and explores some of nature's masterpieces including photosynthesis in plants and natural materials and processes which engineers can only dream of creating. After this read, you will be left thinking about the world of ideas out there and why so much funding goes into research when potential solutions could be in your own back yard.


Once the seeds of inspiration have been sown, collecting data and facts could be next step. The Biomimicry Institute provides a great resource on www.AskNature.org called the Biomimicry Taxonomy; a database of over 1,500 organisms, animals and insects and how they have met different challenges in nature through different ingenious strategies. It is a great source of information and inspiration for designers but what are some examples of nature being used to inspire solutions in the world today?

Packaging material using mycelium

EcoCradle is a new material being developed by award winning design company, Ecovative, which could provide a substitute to polymer packaging like polystyrene. Mycelium is the active ingredient in the roots of mushrooms and when grown with the by-products of agricultural processes such as buckwheat husks, it can be shaped and formed into shapes. The process can take up to 7 days in a dark environment and requires no petrochemical inputs. Heat treatment is used to prevent any mushrooms from popping up unexpectedly . The result is a biodegradable and eco-friendly material which matches many packaging solutions in use today. Further development could mean greener material options for use in insulation and anywhere there is a need for foam-based products such as turbine blades and building materials.

Inspiration for self-cleaning glass

Work at MIT has resulted in a new process for creating surfaces which found its inspiration from the Lotus leaf and the complex nanoscopic architecture found on the eyes of moths and the bodies of certain insects such as desert-beetles. These multi-functioning natural materials are self-cleaning and it was this property that attracted scientists to investigate further. Through the application and careful etching away of nanoscopic material on a surface, patterns can be created which can prevent reflection and repel water. Further development of the process could lead to improvements in photovoltaic panels, video equipment, mobile phone applications and of course, windows.


If the above does not whet your appetite, why not check out some more examples below:
Examples of Biomimicry in Action – article by Jaymi Heimbuch for TreeHugger.co
Biomimicry Europa – non-profit organisation promoting biomimicry in Europe
The 15 Coolest Cases of Biomimicry – a list of current applications and development work in the field of biomimicry .

This article was previously published online on http://www.innovationpioneers.net/nature-calls

A future with no decisions.

Words like innovation, green, design, up-cycle, entrepreneurship, creative etc. are used like they are going out of fashion. It took me some time to realise that for the most part they are meaningless words used by businesses and people to sound trendy and look like good guys. There is one 'buzzword' however, which I find very interesting and it is 'BIG DATA'. Not usually written in capitals but it should be, I think. I am no expert in the term but perhaps some of the below might clarify something about big data and what makes it interesting to me.

You might remember in the last US election a guy called Nate Silver who was a blogger and actually did a good job of predicting the results of the US election using mathematical models and statistics. (You can find more info here). That same guy has used past data and math models to predict the outcome of baseball and poker games quite successfully. Methods like these are used by bankers, farmers, weathermen etc. to predict future outcomes, so nothing new there.

Big data is the term used to describe all of that information collected about social network users which includes their 'likes', searching habits, what they eat, where they are (e.g. GPS location and Foursquare) where they are going (various flight booking websites) etc. It might not be restricted to social media data but most people are happy to share this information as it is fun and convenient. They might not necessarily know how this data is used or how it could be used in the future because technology is moving so fast, it is hard to keep up with IT legislation which 'protects' users. It is hard to create legislation for something which is not defined to begin with. Some people are doing research on this issue and how to give users more 'rights' and tools to protect their information and how it is used (interesting articles on this here). For now though, it seems that big data is open to the world and they are inferring or predicting some interesting issues from this data.

To die for.

Facebook and Google have been using search results and big data to be where they are now. At the consumer level, Google is doing well promoting products and services (music, images and video through YouTube) that suit your tastes. From search results, Google can put adverts on a page which are likely to suit your preferences from past searches and online activity. So rather than getting an advert for a pink sequin Dior diamond encrusted Nokia phone, I should be getting a black bullet proof phone of some sort which is cheap and reliable for example (yayyyy!). Supposedly, Facebook can now predict your sexual orientation with 88% accuracy based on whether you like Britney Spears etc. (more information on that crazy idea here). So if you liked that video of Bob Dylan, read that article on the Guardian, booked that flight to Istanbul, read that French article on Sarkozy or had a gander at McEntee winning the Meath election in Ireland, all of these 'data points' could be used statistically to predict or infer something about you. It might not be trying to sell you a product directly but could be used to improve your internet experience in order to make you buy something eventually for example. I find this area to be exciting and also very scary but I am not arguing here whether it is right or wrong.

It is hard to define how, why and who collects data or whether it is a by-product of the internet where data has been hoarded and not used 'effectively' until now. With open information and the continuation of big data gathering as we know it today, let us imagine a scenario. It is 2050 and I come home in the evening and I am hungry. I get to the fridge and open it up to find a fresh stuffed chicken, some 'taters and beans. Perfect. I turn on the telly and my favourite TV show is on that I have not seen in ages. A message pops up on the screen to say that I have a flight booked to visit family some place and concert tickets have been booked for a concert I wish to see (at a cheap price). Suddenly, a video pops up of the election results and I am happy with the results because Jessica Delquenta got elected to the Dail as Taoiseach.

Molecular robots (image credit)

In 2050, your data and online habits are used to predict what you want and when you want it. Since you were young, a biotech microchip has been 'installed' in your body which can read various chemistry such as sugar and serotonin (believed to be one of the chemicals which alters our mood) levels for example. It allows your doctor to ensure that you are healthy and fit and can also be used to predict what your body needs or wants such as a stuffed chicken in the evening (or constituents that make up chicken and satisfy your bodies cravings). In this 2050, you don't have to make any decisions yourself because big data is used effectively to do it for you. There will be no elections as we know it today and people will not have to vote. 'Big data' will make the decision for you and it will always be right or 'feel' right to you. If it is wrong, you or your body dislikes it. No more pink diamond phones. It won't be a cut off world where we are just individuals using Facebook and staring at the world through a screen. Your environment will adapt with your needs and 'likes' and will allow you to spend less time making wrong choices!

Does this mean an end to 'choice' as we know it? Depending on how you define choice, this system could work very well. Imagine in 2050 that the next level of big data gathering works offline as well as online. With biotech, we have the ability to measure responses in our body due to external stimuli, for example; diamond phone makes me unhappy, keeping the elderly off the streets makes me happy. It knows your political preferences and knows that the elderly is a big issue for you and can predict who you would elect for government to improve conditions for the elderly etc. Can big data be used to make more informed decisions for you?! My way of life, interests, habits, health, relationships etc. can all be used to predict what I 'want'. Are we unknowingly, through how we live online, transferring the need to choose and make decisions into the hands of big data? Is it already happening now?

What now?!

Lizard dance celebration (Photo credit)

This will be the final blog post in this series as I have now graduated as a MSc in engineering design and applied mechanics. Wooop! In this post I will report on the work carried out between handing in and presenting my thesis. I will summarise the feedback that I received and then list some practical advice for those interested. 

Heat pipe with luer and end cap

Final work

In the last 10 days before presenting, I felt it would be worthwhile to try and charge/seal the prototypes and then thermally test them. However, I was never able to evacuate the heat pipes correctly or seal them after the charging attempt. It was pre-mature going ahead with prototyping and it would have been better stopping sooner and writing up on the results, even if it meant that the heat pipes were not created.

Testing set up (HP highlighted in red)

However, regardless of the seal, I still wanted to go ahead with the testing to see what kind of heat conductivity I might get out of the prototypes (stubborn). I set up the apparatus as shown on the right, with the heat pipe clamped gently in the heater (the evaporator end) and a fan set up at the condenser side (to focus the flow, I made a cardboard box element to focus the flow - left image). It was necessary to deflect the forced cool air from the hot end and so a guard (aluminium foil) was placed between both ends. As the HP was not filled correctly, the applied heat only increased the temperature at the hot end and there was an accumulation of heat there. After reaching around 90 °C, it was removed and it was observed that the Si seemed to warp. The results were not conclusive but due to time limits I took some readings using a laser infra-red thermometer which was awkward due to the experimental set up. This was a good example of how not to run an experiment...

Feedback

Although the literature review and presentation was good, I lacked enough analysis and structure relating to the experimental results. I should have focused on the wick structure element and characterised it more thoroughly, perhaps by comparing it to other wick structures currently available. I didn't persuade the examiner that by further investing effort in a lizard inspired wick surface, a more effective and economic solution could be found for the cooling problem. But the biggest rookie mistake I made was that I did not summarise clearly the results of the hypothesis in the summary. These were expensive mistakes...

 

Final words of advice

Here are some final words of advice which might help you out: 

• Create a deadline for when to stop creating new data, finish experiments, develop prototypes etc. Focus on the analysis of the work you have done to that date as you will be more thorough and scientific in your analysis. I would suggest stopping 3 weeks before you hand in the thesis. I found this hard to do...
• Present your supervisor with bullet point lists of what you have accomplished every week in a paragraph. Less is more for these busy people!
• Order parts and components early in the process and make sure you have funds (ask your supervisor). However, I would suggest only ordering parts when you know they will work...or at least are nearly sure they will!
• You have to hand in the thesis in hard copy and electronic. I think the number of hard copies vary depending on the department/supervisor and number of examiners.
• The presentation can last 30 minutes. After this, there is a round of questions which lasts approx. 45 minutes. There can be questions from the examiners (two in my case, one being my supervisor) and I also had a question from a member of the audience. I don't think that inviting guests is of any benefit to your presentation but then again, maybe you might feel more like a rock star. You are then asked to leave where they will make the judgement.
• I had too much to say during the presentation and although I practised it with a friend beforehand, I felt I was rushing through it. The feedback on the slide show was good but I think that I should have reduced the amount of content and chatter. You can find the presentation below (Prezi of course):

 

Thank you/mange tak!

Thanks for reading and keep in touch with me through LinkedIn: 

dk.linkedin.com/in/bryanoregan/ or visit my website: www.suiledesign.com - always interested in collaborating on projects when I can. Good luck! Bryan.

Charging and sealing the prototype before the big day

A selection of the FMHP prototypes

Last week I handed in my thesis one hour before setting off to Cork in Ireland for a family holiday. I now have to send in two hard copies to my supervisor from Ireland. My defence is on Thursday 12 September but before then, I have to get the prototypes working. I return back to Copenhagen on Monday 10 September which leaves very little time to fix some big issues including:

1. Charging and sealing the flat micro heat pipe (FMHP)
2. Setting up the equipment for testing the heat transfer capabilities of the FMHP and working out the overall thermal conductivity of the prototypes
3. Organise the data and compare to literature 
4. Putting together the presentation and other stuff that I hope to use for the defence.

Leak tests

I set up a simple leak test to check whether the glue had worked on the prototype FMHP. I set up a test as shown in the image below, sucking out the air, closing the valve and then dipping the end of the tube in water. Opening the valve allowed the water to be sucked through the tube, hence proof that a vacuum existed. However, there could be slow leaks, given time, would relieve the pressure - to be sure, I added an extra layer of sealant. 
 

Leak test set up (red areas show potential leak points)

Charging and sealing

Each prototype has an inlet consisting of PTFE tubing with 0.6 mm outer diameter. I am going to attempt to fill/charge the FMHP using a syringe vacuum technique. I will try to evacuate air from the FMHP, then use the internal vacuum in the FMHP to suck in a volume of fluid which should wet the wick section. Then I will crimp shut the PTFE tubing.

FMHP charging set up

The biggest headache thus far has been figuring out how to crimp the FMHP shut. I have tried different methods and tested the crimp by flushing air through and watching for bubbles in a water bath.

Needle inserted in PTFE tubing and crimped - FAIL.

So far I have tried three different crimping methods and they have all failed:

1. Metal sleeve crimp (as in the last blog post) - this cracked the PTFE tubing and leaked
2. Needle crimp - I inserted a steel needle into the PTFE tube (applying glue) and then crimped the steel. I tried a number of crimps, at different angles on the needle but it still leaked. Out of five attempts, one seemed to hold but there was still some air bubbles visible at the outlet. One small bubble seemed to just stick at the end of the needle and I am not sure why this happened.
3. Tube bending - I tried to bend the tubing 180 ° and tie the tube in this position but it still leaked.

I am now looking at finding a Teflon sealed adaptor or something that will allow me to inject fluid and then pull out the syringe without losing vacuum pressure and/or fluid. Hopefully someone at DTU Nanotech can help with this.

Testing equipment

Once filled and sealed, I will have FMHP ready for testing. With testing, I will have to apply heat at one end of the FMHP over a small area and then measure the temperature at the other end in order to calculate the over all heat transfer. Practical considerations for the experimental set up will include:

1. Heater with controllable hot plate that can preferably apply a controlled amount of heat to the Si side of the FMHP. This might involve creating a metal shim 1 cm² in area and surrounding it with insulating material so that heat is focused on a particular region (as in a CPU cooling situation). A thermal insulation paste will be needed to create good contact with the FMHP.
2. Thermometers to read the temperatures at different points on the heat pipe. It will be necessary to glue the thermometers which means I need approx 6 per FMHP prototype - 2 at the hot end (evaporator), 2 at the centre (adiabatic region) and 2 at the cold end (condenser). They will have to be glued (i.e. one use only) so I will also need a conductive glue.
3. Prof. Larsen suggested a water cooler at the cold end where the inlet and outlet water temperature can be measured (more thermometers). This will involve a structure design which will allow the end of the FMHP fit in securely and be water tight.

And this all depends on whether these prototypes:
a) Melt - PVC can start to soften at 100 °C so I have to keep the temperatures below that which is the case for CPUs which need a safe operating temperature of approx. 85 °C
b) Leak - Will the glue crack and let air in or will the tubing connections leak?
c) Crack under vacuum - Will the combination of heat and pressure crack the plastic? Are there hidden cracks in the Si from my disastrous labelling method (using a glass cutter on Silicon!)
d) WORK! 

A quick update on lab work

The Polymic group have kindly allowed me to use their lab to carry out the heat pipe fabrication work. I have been running from the Polymic lab to the Danchip lab and then another lab at the Nanotech building looking for parts in order to create the prototypes and testing systems. I am trying to avoid ordering parts but it has been difficult sourcing the components I need. The literature I am reading is not very precise on what gauges should be used or the components and as these are unique prototypes, I have been doing a 'cut to fit' job.

Creating the prototype 

Last week I spent a lot of time trying to bond the container and Si section together using the silicon based adhesive. To be honest, I am really not sure the bond will hold because in order to prevent any glue from contaminating the wick, I tried to apply it partially to the surface. It was the clamped for approx. 24 hours where I then applied another layer. I will be doing leak tests this week so if they fail, I might have to open them up, remove the glue and give the parts a clean and glue with something else.

Clamped carefully with clothes pegs

On clamping with the clothes pegs, another Si wafer bit the dust. The clamping must have again agitated a fracture in the Si wafer after I scratched it with the glass cutter (Roman numerals with all those straight lines...a bad choice!).

Cracked prototype.

The tube system can also be seen above on the cracked prototype. It will be covered at the connections with sealant.

Contact angle tests

From the previous research, Simon had placed the Si wafer with micro structure in the Plasma chamber for a couple of minutes in order to create a silicon oxide layer on the surface, making it more superhydrophilic. I have done this for all of the specimens and have carried out some 'rate of rise' velocity tests on the specimens.

Oxygen plasma treatment of the wick structures.

Contact angle test of Si wick structure after plasma treatment. The drop spreads instantly (as opposed to the untreated specimen) which means the surface is fully wetted.

Crimping

I have tested a crimp system and perhaps I can get that to work. However, it will difficult crimping the tubing of the cotainer which needs to be under a vacuum. Once I source a vacuum sensor of some kind, I can test this set up for leaks.

Crimping the tubing

Next...

I have been also working on putting together all of the information into the chapters on concept development and heat fabrication. As time is ticking away, I am not sure whether I will get to the testing stage as there are still the huge tasks of leak testing, charging and sealing.