2.722J/SP.722 D-Lab: Design
D-Lab Design addresses problems faced by underserved communities with a focus on design, experimentation, and prototyping processes. Particular attention is placed on constraints faced when designing for developing countries. Multidisciplinary teams work on semester-long projects in collaboration with community partners, field practitioners, and experts in relevant fields. Topics covered include design for affordability, design for manufacture, sustainability, and strategies for working effectively with community partners and customers. Students may continue projects begun in D-Lab Development (SP.721)
Course Information
| Instructors: | Amy Smith, Victor Grau Serrat |
| Teaching Assistants: | Derek Brine |
| Semester Offered: | Spring (offered since Spring 2003) |
| Lecture Location: | 4-149 |
| Lecture Times: | MW3:30-5 |
| Units (credit hours): | 3-0-9 |
| Class Size: | 30 students |
| Grading: | A/B/C/D/F |
| Resources: | |
Recent Projects
| 2009 | Cell Phone Enabled Baby Scale | Integrated solution for for tracking infant health parameters in General Practicioner clinics in Pakistan |
| Chlorine Dispenser | Point-of-collection chlorine dispenser for rural communal water sources in western Kenya |
| Hydropower Lantern | Self-powered portable hydro-powered lantern for the Peruvian highlands |
| Plastic Bag Recycling | A simple device to turn waste plastic bags into plastic yarn |
| Soil Block Maker | Utilization of vibration for the compression of soil and cement into bricks |
| Solar Water Heater | Affordable solar water heater for high altitude deserts |
| 2008 | Bamboo Pencil Maker | Device for cutting and slotting bamboo pencil shafts |
| Integrated Food Vendor Cart | Multi-system mobile food cart for Indian street vendors |
| Mobile Maize Sheller | Bicycle-based system for on-farm shelling of corn |
| Mobile Stove Monitoring Kit | (MOSMO) Portable cookstove emissions test kit designer for field applications |
| Peanut Oil Press | Portable, pedal-powered peanut oil expeller |
| Portable Solar Cooker | Portable solar parabolic concentrator designed with nomadic peoples of the high-altitude regions of central Tibet |
| Soy Milk Maker | Device for mechanizing the production of large volumes of soymilk for an orphanage in Peru |
