Homework Step 1- Solar Paint

 There is a paint that has recently been created that can turn practically anything into a solar energy rector. A group of scientist from around the world developed an additive for paints, stains, coatings and flooring that would turn them into solar panels. Through its use, any roof, wall, street or path becomes a photo voltaic generator that can replace traditional solar panels. While still a trade off of cost verses performance, with the paint only reaching a 6% efficiency rate. Though projected to improve over time currently the cells would have to have an efficiency rate of at least 10% to make it worth being commercialized. Today’s best solar panels have a low to mid-20% efficiency rate. The other side is that this solar paint is cheaper and can be applied to nearly any surface.

I thought adding this structures and vehicles could provide energy as a whole and reduce the use of gasoline used. Adding it to things like bridges, trains and larger, taller buildings because they are almost always out in the open and exposed to the sunlight for nearly the entire day. They also are made from metal and already are conductors because of this, making for easy transfer.

So the competitors would probably be paint and solar panel manufacturers, such as Sherwin-Williams, Behr and Benjamin Moore for paint companies and Solar World and Astronergy for solar panel companies.

Below are ads from three different paint companies along with their logo and an image of the website and two solar panel companies again logo and website included.


Sorry the images got a little wonky.

Global Parks/sanctuaries

In honor of our National Parks Service’s 100^th birthday, I propose a plan to expand the boarders onto a global scale. Accompanied with the U.N., my company will offer acres of land in each country where no hunting, fishing, or any activities that could cause harm to the balance of nature. Although not every country may be able to cooperate, conserving nature, animals and the general upkeep of the planet is important to everyone, no matter race or country.

Competition:

The IUCN World Parks Congress is a group that helps protect and conserve our planet. This group is based out of Australia and do not advertise much in the states. This seems like a great group but they have not achieved any of my company’s goals, for example, creating a boundary in sacred forests and jungles. Besides this group I could not find any other competition on a global scale. There are many activist groups and small conservation companies but their reach is only within their own country 

Jonathan Cohen

Product:
The product I bring to you today is Sun Step Solar paths. The Idea is actually very simple:

A solar panel would be sealed under a heavy impact-resistant textured(for grip) glass sheet. These privately installed walkways and driveways made from multiple modular panels wont just provide power for the house to which they're attached. They will also heat themselves to prevent frost and light up at night to help the owners see the path even at night.

Competition:

Sungevity:

The web site and ads shown below have a very positive feel and most focus on the potential savings that solar power offers. Obviously the idea of saving money on your power bill would entice most people

I consider traditional solar panel companies to be the greatest competition for Sun Step as they are both are offering personal power generation while “Solar Roadways” is looking to replace how the electric company creates the power they supply. The biggest point of difference is space, rooftop solar panels can only cover your roof. Ground based panels take up a fair bit of otherwise usable space and can be a bit of an eyesore. The Sun Step Solar paths however can replace driveways, walkways, patios, and offer a much greater variety of designs.

Dream-To-Screen

Dream-To-Screen


One thing that has always bothered me is that I occasionally have dreams at night but, 9 times out of 10, I can’t recall anything that I was thinking about when I wake up. Some people have the best ideas or happiest thoughts while sleeping which is why bringing that into physical form would be incredible. My invention for Design Change is called Dream-to-Screen. This allows the user to view their dreams in full clarity the next day whether they are just curious or need some extra entertainment. In order to make this happen wee would need to create a machine similar to an MRI and an EEG to track brain activity then simply a screen to display what was recorded. There are no current competitors but there is research going into “neural decoding” by a scientist named Horikawa et al. Him and his team have managed to guess the content of the test specimen’s dream 60 percent of the time just by relating brain waves to objects. My audience would be the younger generation because I would assume that they will be open to newer things and are still very curious about themselves and their dreams. The age range would probably be from 15-25 years old.

Our design would look something like an MRI but less bulky and intimidating so you can actually get a comfortable sleep

Nicholas_Jones_Star_Trails

Perhaps out of reach for most in today’s economy, but a must have, life time experience is a trip into space. Star Trails will provide an affordable life time experience for travelers or simply for experience seekers, as well as a fast and affordable transportation. Using new and upgraded equipment and fuel sources we are able to beat our competitions offers and provide a longer lasting experience. Having a network with space programs and ports all around the globe we are able to provide a traveling service on top of a space travel experience.

A word of comparison with our competition such as Virgin Galactic, at a cost of $250,000 per seat, according to CNN, they provide a two-hour flight into space after which they return you home. Star Trails will drop you off anywhere on the globe and/or bring you safely back home from wherever you may be. During this travel you get the full experience as our competitors, with lots of other extras. Virgin Galactic is advertised on CNN, National Geographic, channels on television, Google and their own website as well as links all over CNN, You Tube and Discovery provide advertisement on the web. As the cost for this experience is astronomical, the primary audience would be a higher economical class adult, with a substantially increased income or savings, with little to no health issues due to the physical requirements of this experience.