Interview with India

Like the rest of the world, India, the last country that I interviewed, must overcome many environmental obstacles. Though renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind and hydro power, have been somewhat integrated into their system, the energy shortage is still a growing problem as the population increases. Additional challenges include limited nuclear energy, high natural gas demand, and rising oil import. Natural resources, such as water and coal, are rapidly running dry while pollution is not something new.

Awareness programs, including a GO GREEN initiative, have been established to encourage people to plant more trees and to recycle as much as possible. Saplings are provided to individuals for planting and a law banning the usage of plastic bags has been passed. However, there is no current system that can inform people by mass. Because of this setback and the fact that GO GREEN initiatives have been confined mainly to Delhi, project developers hope to build an application that will lead to a more sustainable environment and reach large groups effectively. Previously researched mobile phone applications related to solving energy problems include quiz and game applications.

The project developers’ original idea was related to SMS messaging. Each person would receive a message consisting of a list of energy saving and awareness tips, and a description of how they are using electricity daily. Another idea includes mixing gaming and rewarding to inform the costumer about energy conservation. For example, if energy companies are given a game application with specific questions, the costumers could answer according to how much energy they consumed that month/ daily. According to the number of points gained for each question and if the point range is below a pre determined threshold, companies can reduce bill prices. The only way a costumer could be rewarded with such incentives is if they played the game, which would automatically register and make them eligible for the deal. It is uncertain as to whether companies would agree with this or not and if the application development is actually feasible. Attracting game users and depending on their honesty when answering the questions are two other major roles in the potential success of this application.

If the rebate and gaming combination is not possible and they must be split into two applications, the gaming application will strictly be for awareness. On the other hand, to avoid the question of dishonesty, a SMS application can be sent to the energy company, and the company can reply with the appropriate consumption value for that particular costumer. Because high consumption appliances require more energy, companies can control the number of electricity hours depending on the costumers electricity usage monthly/daily. This will reduce the amount of energy India is consuming and allow companies to track costumer electricity expenditure.

Interview with Senegal

The second interview that I participated in included individuals from Senegal, Africa. Being able to interact one on one with people from a different country was an eye opening experience. No news channel or newspaper can fully depict the struggles that one country may face. Hearing their experiences first hand gave me a better understanding of Senegal and a new level of appreciation for this project.

Poverty in New York City is quite different than poverty in rural African villages. The Senegal developers explained how the goal of their application is to reduce poverty, to improve technologies and to create a sense of awareness among citizens. One of the main struggles in Senegal is getting around the capital. Dakar is growing every day, yet there is no official directional system that provides valid information. Many times, the people of Senegal are given the wrong information and travel further out of their way using taxis, buses and cars. This contributes to the release of green house gas emissions and pollution. To solve this problem, the developers want to create an Augmented Reality Program, similar to a virtual guide like IButterly (Link) , Google maps, or Metro Paris (Link ). Métro Paris, specifically developed for the iPhone 3GS, enables you to visualize subway stations and points of interest.. Through the developer’s new smart phone application idea, people can use cameras on their phones to locate local pharmacies, hospitals and other desired places. Direct routes allow easy travelling and will reduce pollution and energy consumption. Carpooling at these destinations was also an alternative that can promote environmental awareness if integrated into the application.

Because smart phones are not accessible to a large population in Africa, an SMS application may be a better solution. Originally, we discussed creating a message that would send you the address of your desired location in response to sending your current position. However, it is not possible to do this because SMS messaging cannot translate location, such as the nearest marketplace. Even if it was possible, the individual would still need to find a direct route on their own. Instead, an SMS solution could be successful in times of danger. All a person would need to do is click a button to send a mass message alerting all phonebook contacts and local police stations. Another idea related to protecting the people is creating an Android application. Although this development is similar to the SMS solution, it differs in that it will send your position if you are in danger and a message to the nearest police district. Here, the application is a function of both location and danger. Either way, the SMS and Android ideas can create a safer environment and present important information in real time.

Interview with the United States

My first interview included two project developers from the United States. These students each had very different ideas for developing an application. One of the developers described how California contains recycling outlets and deals at local Walmart and Kostco stores. These"reward" or give costumers 5 cents back when they return a certain number of bottles. Though California is taking a "Go Green" initiative, New York residents have not followed previously passed bottle bills closely enough. People must become more aware of the current pollution issue. By using Google Maps and entering your current address, the new application can show the recycling locations nearest to you. Though the application will primarily be dedicated to bottle recycling, products that do not use regular recycling procedures such as cell phones and batteries can potentially be added onto the application later on.

Another possible idea includes developing an application that can measure the amount of gas a person saves by using public transportation. California currently uses Google Maps to measure the amount of time a resident would spend driving to a location and the cost of the trip versus the public transportation time and cost. The new application can show the number of gas emissions released depending on how far you travel. The challenge with this idea is that it may take people longer to adjust especially if they do not like public transportation or if it is too expensive. However, by making individuals aware of how many natural resources are lost in consumption, there is hope for a greener environment. The application can provide a more cost effective alternative. There will be less traffic, less pollution, and more awareness.

Electricity conservation is another focus for this project. Many appliances are now built with an “away” mode for when users are on vacation. For example, switching water heaters to this mode keeps the water warm and uses significantly less energy than the amount of energy required to maintain a full tank of hot water. Unplugging mobile chargers, laptops, televisions and other appliances when not in use can reduce “phantom power”. This is energy that is still consumed even when appliances are on standby. Creating an application that controls heating and electricity from different locations can result in less power consumption. It can also bring a sense of responsibility among society.

Pace University's Undergraduate Research Grant: Working Towards Smarter Energy

My research focuses on smarter cities and energy, and the role mobiles can play in that area. The first challenge I faced was choosing a starting point in such a wide topic. Dr. Scharff was also unsure of a specific focus and as a result we began with defining the term “environment”. This word which we have heard from as far back as we can remember has more definitions than one could imagine.

I have experience in working in the environment. In the past, I was involved in a project at Pace University’s Environmental Center on the Pleasantville Campus. With Angelo Spillo and Jim Eyrings assistance, I built a Native New York Plant garden and received my girl scout Gold Award. After looking at the Pace website, I learned about the University’s concerns for environmental issues through the initiatives of the Sustainability Committee and how this committee projects its perspectives to the Pace community. Seeing that both Jim and Angelo were on the committee, I contacted them and they invited me to the meeting. Through this experience, I had a better understanding of the various components of the environment including recycling and waste,water and lighting, transportation, dining services, purchasing, green building and landscaping, and energy reduction. Pace University has recently joined the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) with universities across the country in the race to become a greener community. This web site permits interested individuals to consult the involvement of educational institutions in becoming greener; each institutions receives either a bronze, silver, or gold rating based on categories described above. Our university currently has a bronze rating and is working towards the gold within the next year!

Smarter cities and energy is an important theme for IBM and one of their current mottos. I explored the web site of IBM in this research. IBM Smarter Planet comes to you event took place at Pace on October 11^th. Pace University was one of the 39 universities chosen globally by IBM. Social media, generational changes and the increasing pressure for success throughout all industries, have influenced the way in which society obtains data and interacts with them. IBM is pushing forward the concept of an “instrumented, interconnected and intelligent” world. First, the world is instrumented and data can be collected using different tools (e.g., RFIDs and mobile phones) from anywhere and at anytime. This will permit the generation of new knowledge and aid in better decision making in order to optimize the way we live. This IBM initiative can improve the efficiency and productivity of the operations of everything from small companies to large cities. Within the Smarter Planet proposal, are specific sections dedicated to smarter cities, smarter students and smarter energy. I will use the IBM web site as a starting point to explore more on smarter energy.

My preliminary research led me to interview a manager at Con Edison to investigate what they are doing in terms of smarter energy. Following this interview, I now understand that the concept of the environment is no longer only related to nature. It is about how the latest technological trends affect our interaction with each other, with the nature, with everything that surrounds us. Rather than having traditional computers in one location, we can use mobile computing devices to interact amongst each other from anywhere, anyplace and at anytime. Data centers house internet, business and telecommunication systems and store information. This idea of “cloud computing” that we use in our everyday life (e.g., Google Gmail and YouTube) without knowing it, facilitates access and storage of data. It can potentially promote energy conservation as long as the cloud is powered using clean energy.

This year, universities located in 4 different countries including the United States, India, Senegal, and Belgium are collaborating on the 2011 Global Software Development project. Founded in 2005, this research and educational initiative has aimed towards studying the development of software by distributed teams. Focusing at first on developing specific web applications, the interest moved to the development of mobile applications. In 2010, mobile applications were developed to improve life on campus, and in 2009 a mobile application for first-grade pupils was developed. Taking this effort further, this year, the teams will build mobile solutions that will contribute to smarter cities and smarter energy. They are expected to either release them in an app store or pilot them on the field in the different involved countries. These solutions may be applications (Android, Blackberry or Java ME), mobile web sites, SMS or voice solutions. To overcome the challenge of working in a distributed setting, the IBM Rational Team Concert software (RTC) will be used throughout the development. This tool facilitates team awareness. Though the project developers are well versed in their technical role, my job is to ensure that each team composed of students distributed across different countries, has a good vision of a product. Thus, I have a marketing, product vision and research role to help them focus their ideas. Furthermore, I will provide them guidance and knowledge through my research on smarter cities and energy!