Solar has proven to be a reliable and renewable energy source, and it is not unusual that large solar collectors are mounted on roofs or arranged in fields, which means that the vital rays of the sun are catching and converted. However, one of the challenges for the widespread introduction of solar collectors is that some see them as quite unsightly. In order to overcome this challenge, a disciplinary team of researchers at Cornell University Helioskin, a compliant biologically inspired photovoltaic technology, develops, which wraps around structures and various forms and detects dynamic and aesthetic solar energy.
The team behind Helioskin combines researchers from various departments, including project manager Jenny Sabin, professor of architecture at the college for architecture, art and planning. Itai Cohen, Professor of Physics at the College of Arts and Sciences; and Adrienne Roeder, professor in the field of plant biology in the School of Integrative Plant Science. The aim of the project is to create more visually appealing and more easily integrated solar panels that the sun can actually follow by its design inspired by organic design.
“Nature is not efficient,” said Sabin. “It is resistant and biology is for the long game, over much longer time scales. It was also shown that plants that follow the sun have a photosynthetic advantage. And we believe that this is a fairly strong way to think about sustainability and resilience in architecture. “
While the long-term vision for Helioskin is to print flexible, origami-like photovoltaic sheets with the roll-to-roll print through the kilometer that could be wrapped through buildings in order to correct the ecological effects of the construction industry, in the current stage of development, the team is working on a smaller scale, the reduction of procedures and motivated representation processes and 3D splendor to Creating customs and assembled processes.
“The basic idea is to try to print things in 2D, which is cheap and then transform into 3D so that it can bend structures,” explained Cohen. “You can't just take a normal sheet of paper and wrap a little. It will have all possible wrinkles. If you try to wrap an orange, you will get all of these craves. One of the innovations we developed was to cut the paper into a pattern of panels and hinges that enables him to extend locally to extend these round objects. A second strategy that we have come up with is the use of fabric to make the hinge. Fabric is flopped enough to give you hinge -like behavior. “
The team is currently starting a three-year pilot project that aims to develop Helioskin to produce small solar roofing for backyards. This project, which is supported by the convergence acceleration program of the National Science Foundation, aims to complete a comprehensive prototype in the second year, and until the end of the pilot project, the research group hopes to be in the early stages of commercialization for the Solar Panel Baldachin, the outdoor devices and lights.
“Helioskin is part of this great vision of” How do we make solar attractive so that people can actually find them usable and interesting? “, Added Roeder,” the goal is that it turns the light and pursues from a small scale to the establishment of scale. “It is not entirely clear how or whether additive manufacturing technologies are entered into the end product, but it plays a role in developing this morphable, flexible materials that can integrate photovoltaic properties and track light for optimal efficiency.