Shawn Frayne

International Development Design Summit, MIT 2007

smf@humdingerwind.com

650.279.0109

“Harder problems make for better inventions.”

-Kurt Kornbluth

Or

Constraints are good.

Example #1: SODIS Gets a New Bag

• SODIS = SOlar water DISinfection, pioneered by SANDEC.

• Two million people use SODIS regularly for their clean water.

• Old 1-2 L bottles are the typical container for SODIS.

Photo by SANDEC, www.sodis.ch

The Challenge: Improve the SODIS Bag

• Improving the SODIS bag was a D-Lab Design Challenge from 2004-2005.

• 2 million current users. Why so few? • Bottles are keeping SODIS from reaching a

wider audience. (Shipping bottles is shipping empty space)

• SANDEC realized this, and did a large-scale trial of bags. At first, the bags were received well (“Swiss-made. Whoo!), but then abandoned.

SODIS Bag: The Constraints

• Constraints:– Can be manufactured in Haiti– Will last for two months– Less than US$0.50 selling price– Easy to fill– Easy to pour– Marketable (e.g., must be able to convince

people that this is a unique bag that can actually disinfect water)

The SODIS valve

The difficultconstraints forcedthe innovation of anew type of valve.

This valve had strongnovelty, and so waspatented in theUS/EU, and rights innon-solar disinfection applications sold to a Fortune 500 company.

Example #2: Non-revolutionary wind

The history of wind power is a history of rotating systems

Small-scale Wind: The Constraints

• Constraints:– $1-5 wind generator can light 2 white LEDs,

charge a cell phone, or power a radio– Can be manufactured in Haiti – No specialized materials required – If magnets are necessary, they must be small– Easy to repair, improve– Minimize grinding, wearable parts

The Future of Wind Power

• Lift & drag over a wing governs turbine-based generators.

• Fortunately, the world is full of wonder (and other aerodynamic effects).

• Humdinger’s technologies use aeroelastic flutter: A destructive force, reformed.

How to Make Wind Small, without Turbines

How the “windbelt” works

• Approximately 10x greater efficiencies than recently published state-of-the-art in micro-turbines.

• The reality of a “printable” wind generator! • New, licensable applications in wealthy countries

– there is no other small-wind power.• Still open-source in developing countries.• Share of royalties will fund the development of

the much longer maturation, but much larger markets in Haiti and other developing countries.

“Windbelt” Technology Works

Appropriate technology is better technology.

• The revolutionary inventions of the next 50-100 years – the industry starters – will mostly be created in developing countries.– Wind, ocean, solar power, biogas, urban planning,

food processing, clean water, ICT, business models

• IDDS is one of the first conferences in the world that will help make this possible.