64 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
64 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
## Problem and rough solution
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Salt is vastly overapplied to parking lots and other places in the winter. This has a number of problems:
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- Causes damage to vehicles and property
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- Causes environmental damage
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- Could eventually lead to stricter regulation
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- Expensive in terms of raw materials
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Additionally, the application is a nontrivial labor expense.
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Could we reduce the amount of salt we applied with precision, potentially automated, application?
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- By taking readings of the parking lot (either with IR temp sensors, cameras, or a fusion thereof), we could apply salt at a variable rate.
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- By having an automated/robotic system we could apply salt on a more regular basis, reducing overall salt usage
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- By being able to swap/adjust between different media of salt (coarse, fine powder, or brine) we could further drive salt usage down
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## Numbers & Napkin Math
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(I'm just putting what I recall from our brief call - please correct these numbers)
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- 2.3 pounds per 1000 sqft at 30F
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- at 16F that usage can triple
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- so 2.3 - 10 # / 1000 sqft; average at 6 let's say
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There might be 12 (?) applications of salt per season?
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Parking lots are obviously quite variable.
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- A walmart parking lot might be 320,000 sqft (x12x6/1000 = 23,000 # of salt / season)
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- A midsize lot might be 40,000 sqft (x12x6/1000 = 2,900 # of salt / season)
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- A much smaller lot might be 10,000 sqft (x12x6/1000 = 720 # of salt / season)
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## Clarifying Questions
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- How do you deal with cars in the lot? Do you just salt traffic lanes?
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## Potential Solutions
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These aren't necessarially good ideas
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You gotta throw weird shit out there and let it marinade
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#### "Big Snow Roomba"
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- An automated robot around the size of a zero-turn lawnmower
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- Heck it might *be* the same platform as a robotic lawnmower. This problem is already solved/being solved by others.
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- Holds a capacity of 320 pounds of salt (for a 320,000 sqft walmart parking lot)
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- (how do you deal with the fact that you have cars?)
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- Manually refilled at end of day -OR- mates with a docking station to get more salt/brine and power
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- Has IR sensors and cameras to read ground condition
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- Has fancy salt spreader that adjusts on the fly in response to changing ground condition
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#### "Smart Spreader" / "Precision Salting"
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Bring the basic idea of precision planting tech (and I would imagine, also exists on spreaders) to salt spreading.
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- Add-on / replacement spreader for existing salt trucks
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- Spread salt in a more even pattern
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- Improved accuracy of dosing
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- Sensors on front of truck read ground condition and set dosing parameters accordingly
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- Optional GPS/RTK system helps operator hit all regions of a lot
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- Automatic shutoffs
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- Really fancy CANBus system taps into engine and sets a speed limit for drivers
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#### "Zero Turn Salter"
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- Retrofit (add-on kit for?) a manual zero-turn mower that has the ability to spread 100# of salt at a time
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- Use some of the same "smart spreader" tech
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## Existing Solutions
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- Thad: talk to BCS and understand what already exists and is in use in the ag world for application
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- Capra Hircus Saltnex
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- www.thesnowbot.com / www.yarbo.com
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