Logan » Few inventions have lit the way to modern times more than Thomas Edison's 1879 discovery of electric illumination, created by running current through a carbon filament in a vacuum bulb. Edison's idea, which transformed the way we live and work, has been upgraded so many times, few ways remain to improve on the light bulb.
So engineer Paul Israelsen and his Utah State University colleagues are trying to improve illumination by making buildings "intuitive," that is, by enabling them to self-adjust lighting so it's tailored to what people are doing. They intend to go far beyond the motion sensors that turn on lights when people enter a room.
"Let's figure out where they are in the room, what kind of work they are doing so we can adjust the lighting to serve the tasks they're working on and turn the lighting off everywhere else," says Israelsen, an associate research professor and director of USU's new Energy Dynamics Laboratory.
Such systems could cut by half buildings' electrical use and enhance the quality of interior light to maximize productivity in the workplace. That potential garnered $5 million in "seed" funding through the Utah Science, Technology and Research initiative (USTAR), the state's long-term, multimillion dollar effort to leverage university-generated technologies into economic drivers.
Israelsen's Institute for Intuitive Buildings, or I2B, is among four new teams to recently win USTAR support, along with two other groups based at USU: the IDIAS Institute (for Interactive Design for Applications), led by artist Alan Hashimoto; and VDID (Veterinary Diagnostic and Infectious Diseases), led by Ken White, head of the veterinary sciences department, and chemist Alvan Hengge. Meanwhile, the University of Utah's colleges of Science and Engineering are forming a joint team to develop advanced energy technologies associated with batteries.
With these additions, made possible by an infusion of federal stimulus funding from the Department of Education, USU now has nine USTAR research teams, and the U. has 13.
"The faculty that have been coming with these ideas are folks that are not only pursuing a calling to teach and do research, but they also have a real entrepreneurial focus. Each of the new teams represent that entrepreneurial culture," USTAR executive director Ted McAleer says. "These are people constantly crossing the line between academia and industry."
Hashimoto, an art professor connected to advertising, has teamed with USU faculty in instructional technology to develop digital platforms for use in "smart games" and interactive simulation programs to train emergency personnel, such as firefighters, fire forensic investigators, hazardous materials responders, and medics.
"Because it's multiplayer, you learn how to train with others, who should go round back, how do we enter a fire, what signs to do we look for," Hashimoto says. "It's like 'Doom.' In that case you're trying to shoot your buddies. In this one you want to coordinate with them and there's a facilitator watching everything."
The IDIAS team is also devising programs that simulate environmental changes.
"A simulation is a virtual projection with a lot of up-to-date data that will give us a close to real-time example of what might happen, like a forest fire, global warming, what you would do in a natural disaster. In an emergency situation, you would know what roads are out, what bridges are down," Hashimoto says.
Energy savings initially motivated Israelsen's I2B team. Lighting accounts for one-fifth of the nation's electrical consumption and more than a third of commercial buildings' energy use goes to illumination. Huge energy savings can be realized if lighting systems are adapted to tasks and individuals' preferences, say team members.
Also working on the smart-building project are professors Aravind Dasu and Jake Gunther, both with the electrical and computer engineering department; Jeff Muhs, an optics expert leading USTAR's biofuels team; and Weber State University psychology professor Lauren Fowler, whose research examines how lighting affects people.
Their goal is to devise lighting systems that "anticipate" what people want by observing past behavior, monitoring natural light, and tracking movements. Lights will dim where illumination is not needed and brighten to highlight work and discussion areas, like a blackboard, desk top, or conference table.
"By bringing more intelligent sensors in we can watch and learn ... and build an intelligent model about how this person uses this space and build something they like," Gunther says. "We have been warned by people in industry to not do the wrong thing, so we will try to be as conservative as we can."
