Garbage track order
Meandering path in a blue gray on the satellite map of Boston. Track at the end, a blue flashing dots along the street on the map, move forward for some distance.
This is a tracking action. However, the implementation of the tracking is not the police, but the Massachusetts Institute of Technology "perceived city" Laboratory (SENSEable City Lab). They followed what the object is not an important figure, but a Starbucks cup.
July 15, 2009, the laboratory director, Professor Carlo announced the launch of Laity called "junk tracking" the project. According to the plan, they will be in New York, Seattle, a study of two cities, tracked thousands of pieces of garbage after being discarded whereabouts.
"By tracking the waste of 'travel', we can better explain the operation mode of urban waste disposal systems, and can move people more intuitive understanding that garbage had much impact on the environment." Laity said.
In the United States east and west coasts, a piece of paper "junk track order" issued at the same time.
See the city's "metabolism"
Since receiving the invitation to contest the Federation of New York building, Laity in wondering Professor, do some "different things."
The architect graduated from the University of Cambridge since 2001 at MIT's Media Lab to do post-doctoral. 5 years ago, he founded the "perceived city" lab, the start and colleagues, try to combine digital technology and urban planning together, with the new digital technology to explain urban phenomena. They had been tracking the different travel patterns and urban people's trajectory, but also have done real-time digital map of Rome, the above also shows the city's streets, people moving condition, the Rome Masters, "haunted" place, and the urban bus or train real-time position.
This time, the face of the competition theme "how pervasive computing technology will change our urban design," Laity Professor sights on the garbage.
"Now, garbage has become a topic of one of the most watched," Laity said, "It is not only a direct impact on the environment, garbage problem also reflects a sense of the behavior and attitude towards the environment."
Combination of electronic technology, laboratory researchers will soon determine, through a communication device to track the trajectory of garbage, the daily necessities of the "final journey" to show it.
Laboratory Deputy Director said garbage disposal chain tracing scheme allows a more clear and transparent to show in the world. "We hope this project can promote behavior change in people and encourage people to make more 'sustainable' decision." Baide Man said, "At least, if we know the ultimate garbage gone children, disappeared in the course of their How much energy is consumed, then we discard the waste, there is always 'think twice' it. "
Although the "tracking" sounds very Hollywood feel, but firmly denied that their projects Laity and movies in any way. He is more willing to own "garbage track" project with another discipline analogy: nuclear medicine.
Research in nuclear medicine, the doctor will inject a radioactive substance subjects the body to make it into the human body, in specific organs and tissues of the circulation and metabolism, and continue to give the signal. Doctors use a special detection equipment to track these signals, the body can panoramic view of all the conditions, accurate understanding of the condition.
"That, refuse to track project is nuclear medicine's 'urban version of'." Laity said, "we waste by tracking the signal, you can see the city's metabolism."
As with nuclear medicine, waste tracking project also has "therapeutic function." Laity said that, in addition to understanding the recovery of waste, the project's significance lies in another layer of different waste disposal route, time of analysis, help to find the city waste disposal system, whether there is a lack of efficiency in a number of places.
Garbage can become interesting, the project proposal quickly gained recognition Federation of New York building. Laboratory not only won the contest, also received a research fund. Meanwhile, the Federation has decided that this year in September, will be in New York and Seattle, the results of research projects on display.
The next question also very clear: the technical, the tracking of waste should be how to implement it?
To refuse to bring "mobile phone"
June 7, the main building at MIT in Boston, burst into cheers. "Perceived city" Laboratory researchers received their first throw out the garbage back to the signal.
Signal device is the researchers called a "tag." This is a matchbox-sized device. Its front is a chip, the back is about the size of a cell phone battery with silver battery, can support the device to run for two months. In addition, only a few connecting wires, and an antenna used to transmit signals.
In order to prevent damage to the antenna a small quilt in a transparent glass tube. Thus, from the outside, the boxy-chip antenna with a round, this "tag" is like a small phone.
"In fact, this device is also similar to the one from the mini-feature phone, but no earpiece and microphone." Laity said. This "phone" will be calculated once every 15 minutes where their position, and sends a signal to the host laboratory. The host, the signal will be received each time the screen displays real-time map of the city, and published on the Web, for public inspection.
Compared to the GPS satellite positioning system, "e-label" use of the mobile phone system is not only lower cost, and because of universal application throughout the world, to refuse the "track" almost without any restrictions. The first litter of research projects to choose in the Boston, Seattle, thousands of kilometers away. The researchers said even the ambitious "cross tracking" is not a problem.
However, the "electronic labels" are also facing problems and challenges. The most important point is that mixed in other types of electronic products were discarded garbage, which itself became a source of contamination. Researchers said they have tried to limit "tag" impact on the environment, the entire device are made of biodegradable non-polluting production of environmentally friendly materials.
"At least, the positive significance of the experiment is obvious." Baide Man said, "experiment on the environmental benefits are far greater than the possible harm."
On the other hand, in order to prevent "electronic labels" and to track the waste from the open, the researchers also pains. The first drop in tracking the Starbucks cups, they put "tag" rub a mass of waste paper, paper cups and then stuffed inside. In other electronic products, some of the more rigid, the "tag" is first to be stuffed into plastic foam, and then into the garbage, in order to prevent being crushed during transport.
Tracking in the new round of spam, the researchers simply use the latex to "tag" attached to the garbage on the track to achieve a more effective binding.
The other on the "tag" of the question is focused on costs. Currently, each "tag" the cost is about $ 100, which gives large area caused great difficulties. However, the Laity professor stressed that after the mass production will significantly decrease the price tag, even down to a few dollars.
Even the size of the label, the researchers are also ongoing technological improvements. Laity said the final version of the "electronic labels" will be only one-sixth of the size now, "like a SIM card is different."
Laity look forward to smaller and cheaper, "tag", which can be more widely applied: "If you can give each fitted with a trash 'tag', we'll never waste a. "
"The last trip," how long
From large-scale project in mid-August start another week, laboratory researchers are engaged in a "test events." They chose the 50 species of junk, in addition to Starbucks cups, as well as electrical appliances, magazines and so on. "We hope the garbage like a standard sample database, on behalf of the consumer goods we use every day." Laity said.
In the latest number of "test events", the researchers added a variety of tracking objects, including model cars, cartons of milk, baseball gloves, a box of canned food.
The garbage in the city have been running track real-time in the laboratory of the "spam blog" on. July 13 shows a picture, the researchers discarded the northwest coast in Seattle, a Starbucks cup, after 27 hours 36 minutes, across the entire state of Washington and eventually stopped at Cedar Mountain in the southeast of the landfill.
This seems more than usually complex process of thought a lot of garbage transport. However, the laboratory, a postdoctoral fellow from China, Liu Liang stressed that this does not explain the lack of efficiency of Seattle's waste disposal process, because the post-processing of data as the picture shows it is not intuitive and simple. "Garbage transport path is reasonable to deal with acts with the requirements of sustainable development, need to set quantitative targets to be evaluated." Liu Liang said, "This is a very complicated process."
But at least, the early "test events" received good feedback, waste tracking is attracting more and more attention. In the laboratory of the blog, people keep asking, how to collect the "tag" to track their lost garbage.
According to the plan, then, waste tracking project will recruit volunteers in New York and Seattle, through their help, to track more than 3,000 garbage. Compared to "test events", it will be a larger sample of urban waste emissions overall have more effective representation of meaning.
However, before that, Laity professor and his colleagues also received good news. "New Scientist" magazine decided to help the laboratory, the "garbage track order" to extend to the UK. They will recruit volunteers in London, release the third installment of "tag."
Although the evaluation of the project is "idealism," but the editor does not deny the garbage Luoge Hai Field tracking positive. "If you know what actions will impact the environment, then the waste disposal does not like 'trash, and then wash your hands' so simple." He said.
For Liu Liang, he still has a little "selfish", he hoped that the promotion of waste tracking range can be larger, for example, extended to China. Although he did not mind the end: "China is now paying more attention to investment and development, may not value the garbage."
"In the past, China's research on waste disposal could not be started due to lack of data, and refuse to provide large amounts of data to track just to make up the shortfall." Liu Liang said, "For the emphasis on sustainable development in China, which is A very interesting study. "
