PM in Photos: Philippines Sky Eye Project

Undergraduate students in the Philippines are using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) that do aerial video/ photography. The project is called SkyEye - and the idea is to build a business model around providing aerial imaging and mapping, interactive mapping, and providing data to traffic support systems. One of the best side products of this project is that students gain experience building business cases, interfacing with industries, and understanding what it takes to bring a concept to market.

Photo Credit:Why Not?

Venus and the Nature of Project Selection

I recently read an interesting opinion piece in Sky and Telescope magazine. The author, David Grinspoon, made the case that by "By neglecting Venus, we could lose valuable knowledge about earth." (Podcast of the article here.)

According to Mr. Grinspoon, NASA recently selected a round of projects for preliminary funding and none of the seven Venus related projects were selected. Venus, in fact, hasn't been the subject of a NASA mission since 1989.

What I found most interesting though, is his description of how Venus has found itself at the bottom of the project selection food chain. Grinspoon asserts that, while NASA generally selects projects well, Venus research is on the verge of a "death spiral". There is no spacecraft currently exploring Venus, and it is unlikely there will be one in the next 10 years. The cycle of Venus neglect was laid out as follows: 1)NASA research dollars follow its current missions, 2) Since there are no current Venus projects underway, astronomy students do not focus on Venus studies, 3) This leads to fewer advocates for Venus projects, 4) Which makes it harder to develop quality Venus project proposals, 5) Wash, rinse, repeat.

This article got me thinking about how projects are selected for funding in general. One of the benefits of working on both private and public sector projects is witnessing the difference in how and why projects are selected. At the risk of over generalizing, the private sector is looking for that all elusive ROI (Return on Investment) and the public sector is looking for ways to best meet its mission on a tight budget. Two things that are pervasive in both though, is the risk of "sticker shock", and that those of us that build business cases and proposals for projects are required to estimate the cost and duration of tasks while there are still a great deal of unknowns. Then, we are often pressured to bring those estimates down over the fear the project won't get funded because the estimated costs and durations will be perceived by decision makers as too costly and expensive. Is it any surprise then, when such projects have budget and cost overruns once the rubber hits the road?

Photo Credit (of Venus): National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

PM in Photos: Cobre, Panama

Cobre Panama is a large copper deposit located just over 100 km west of Panama City, Panama. A project is underway to create a mine at the location, at a cost of just under $4 Billion. The mine is expected to produce copper, gold and silver and have a life span of over 30 years. The project is scheduled to be

completed by 2016. This photo is a grinding mill at the project site.

Photo Credit: International Mining

Switzerland - Brussels: Solar Powered Flight

On May 13, the first fully solar-powered international airplane flight was completed successfully. The aircraft, Solar Impulse HB-SIA, pictured above, took off from Payerne airfield in Switzerland and passed over Luxembourg before landing at Brussels Airport. The flight lasted 12 hours 59 minutes and climbed to an altitude of 12,400 feet, using no fuel and propelled by solar energy alone.

The Solar Impulse HB-SIA is a prototype aircraft, the product of an $88 million project, of which this flight was just one stage. The following are the major milestones for this project:
- Feasibility study at the Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne (EPFL) in 2003
- Announcement of challenge on 28 November 2003
- Development of the concept in 2004-2006
- Design and manufacturing of the prototype HB-SIA in 2007-2009
- Test flights and first night flight with the prototype in 2010
- Construction of the HB-SIB airplane in 2011
- Missions lasting several days, crossing of the Atlantic and attempt to fly round the world in five stages from 2012.

Interestingly, the makers of the aircraft, Solar Impulse, are not seeking to revolutionize air flight, instead, their mission is "to contribute in the world of exploration and innovation to the cause of renewable energies." In deed, it seems that renewable energy technologies will only leap ahead with projects such as these. The solar power cells used on the Solar Impulse HB-SIA are 16 to 22 percent more efficient and half as thick as compared with technology available in 2003.

Photo Credit: Solar Implulse

USA: Verrazano Bridge Overhaul

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New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority is embarking on a $419 million dollar project to replace the upper deck of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Roughly 190,000 vehicles cross the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge daily and it is one of the longest suspension bridges in the world, as it connects New York City boroughs Staten Island and Brooklyn. The bridge opened 1964, and by now the maintenance of the deck is getting to be very costly. One of the project goals is to ensure that the replacement deck will last one hundred years.

The Verrazano's new deck will be a steel orthotropic deck that is more resilient than its current concrete one. This is because the steel running along traffic will be rigid and the steel runnning perpendicular to the flow of traffic will be relatively flexible. The new Verrazano design also requires less material overall, and the steel is expected to corrode at a slower pace than its concrete predecessor.

Testing of the deck's components is already underway. This photo was taken at Lehigh University's Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems (ATLSS) Center where researchers are running stress tests on a prototype of replacement-deck segments.**

The tests simulate the weight and movement of vehicles, applying pressure to the deck in a sequence just as a moving vehicles would. The other focus of the testing is to hasten wear and tear on the prototype deck segments. By inflicting decades of use on the parts in a matter of months, the project team can adjust the design rapidly. Once the parts are ready, the new deck will be assembled like the pieces of a puzzle: segment by segment, lane by lane.

*Photo Credit: Michael Brandon.
** Photo Credit: Lehigh University

Zimbabwe: Enabling Through Tech Projects

The University Of Zimbabwe Library has launched three pilot projects to enable library patrons with visual disabilities.

Virtual Magnifying Glass is a screen magnification tool that can magnify text and images up to 32 times. Library users click on the tool's icon and place the magnifier over any item on the screen to enlarge it. Users can determine the shape and size of the magnified area and the strength of the magnification.

Text-to-speech tool Balabolka is a tool that reads text aloud from the user's computer screen. This tool is intended to aid people who have difficulties with reading due to visual impairments or reading difficulties like dyslexia.

AccessApps is over 60 applications which run from a flash drive ("memory stick"), and provide a range of solutions to support writing, reading and planning that enable people with specific disabilities. For example, there are programs to help you change the background color of your computer screen, or to help you locate the cursor on the screen.

Using a "train the trainer" approach, the University Of Zimbabwe Library staff have been trained in the use of these tools. They will, in turn, assist and train library users who want to use them. The pilots will run from January to April 2011. If the pilot projects are successful, the tools will be made more widely available on public access terminals. Interested in other projects that enable people in developing countries? Check out EIFL, and international non-profit that promotes knowledge sharing to those with physical challenges.

Germany: €4.1 Billion Project on Ice?

Massive rail transportation project "Stuttgart 21" in Stuttgart Germany aims to rebuild the central train station in the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg and make Stuttgart a European transport hub. The ambitious project, strongly backed by Germany's Chancellor Merkel, includes the creation of 16 new tunnels, 18 new bridges, 60 kilometres of new train track and three new train stations, including a new underground through-station. The project has been fraught with controversy, punctuated by police use of water cannons and pepper spray against protesters in September of 2010. This week, the environmental Green party and the left-wing Social Democratic Party (SPD) swept Merkel's party from power in Baden-Württemberg, putting the future of the multi-billion Euro rail project in jeopardy.

Opposition groups claim that the project should be halted despite the €1.5 billion already spent, for a number of reasons. Like many federal, state and local tax-payer funded projects in this economic downturn, it is anticipated that this project will be underfunded due to recent budget-slashing measures. This may only exacerbate what many feel are project cost and schedule projections based on poor estimates. Supporters of the project feel it would transform Stuttgart into “the new heart of Europe”, and provide thousand of jobs.

It is still too early to tell what Stuttgart 21's fate will be. As of Friday, Germany Rail authorities began inquiring as to the penalties the government may face if the project were to be canceled. Still, the final decision rests with Germany's federal government and the Rail authorities; and while the Green party is opposed to the project, it appears that the SPD is not. I will be watching this one, and will provide updates as they develop.

Photo Credit: The Local