Supporting Universitas Indonesia Green Campus Program by developing an energy-harvesting stairway
Sustainability is a part of everything we do at Product Development and Innovation Laboratory, for great innovation means nothing without environmental responsibility. We always incorporate sustainability in every aspects, including our research. As a part of our responsibility of the high consumption of electricity in Faculty of Engineering Universitas Indonesia, this year we conduct a research in energy conservation based on product design concept and ergonomics consideration.
The idea is to develop a sustainable energy-harvesting stairway by considering product characteristics and biomechanic analysis. We develop the whole mechanism and technology this alternative energy so that in the end, the stairway will be able to generate energy when it is being used. This research aims at offering a sustainable energy-harvesting stairway in order to reduce energy consumption at Faculty of Engineering as well as supporting Universitas Indonesia Green Campus Program.
As explained, we pay much attention to product characteristic in designing the stairway. Thus, in order to choose the best option for each characteristic of the product, we use The Theory of Inventive Machine (TRIZ) method. By using TRIZ method, we can tell the most proper characteristic of the proposed stairway, including material selection, usability, durability, and so on. In addition, we also conduct a software simulation using Jack Software in order to evaluate the usability of our product.
After we finished designing the stairway, we create the prototype and ask our audiences/customers to test our product directly in order to evaluate the product usability. The evaluation is done using Motion Capture Software – A software owned by Department of Industrial Engineering Universitas Indonesia that helps recording human movement naturally by putting a number of markers on certain points of human body – as well as Posture Evaluation Index (PEI) evaluation which comprises three main components, Low Back Analysis (LBA), Ovako Working Posture (OWAS), and Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA).
We have conducted the research for almost one year. As for today, we are currently developing the finished product and we hope our research can be done on time, hence supporting the campus to achieve sustainability as well as reducing energy consumption on a daily basis.
