Introduction
Since our group is striving to design a low-cost, high-efficiency home desalination unit for rural northern Chileans, it is important not only to know about engineering principles, but about the unique motivations and needs of the customer and area. The Atacama region is distinctive due to its singularly arid climate, its lenient water rights system, and the culture of its people. All three of these areas required its own branch of research from our team.
Problem Situation/Opportunity
All the engineering knowledge in the world is useless if one cannot figure out how to apply it. As such, finding the proper problem to invest your time and attention in is one of the most important building blocks of a project such as this.
The group was first alerted to the problem in northern Chile by a New York Times article that GMG had found. The article detailed how, since the water rights system in Chile was very free-market, the mining companies were buying up all the available freshwater sources to use for their mines and plants, leaving small towns without a viable source of drinking water. A visit to the Wikipedia page for Water Resource Management in Chile confirmed this knowledge and convinced us that Chile was the area most in need of a device of this nature.
Environment/Climate
Researching the environment in which a device will be implemented, especially if it is an outdoor device, is integral to its success. One must learn the benefits and the disadvantages of the different characteristics of the area - what can you exploit? what should you watch out for? What must you resist? Knowing the setting is key to making the unit durable and efficient enough to properly provide for these people.
The Atacama desert is the driest in the world. Any aerial moisture evaporates before it reaches the ground, so rainfall in the region averages less than a millimetre a year. We learned more about the peculiar weather patterns and circumstances that conspire to leave the Atacama region so arid through the National Geographic region profile and the Atacama desert Wikipedia page. Geography.about.com was also a helpful resource. Basically, research in this area convinced the group of the severity of the Atacaman drought and its chronic nature. Information here was also very helpful to our power-focused person, who noted that the almost complete lack of cloud cover made solar power an extremely viable source of energy for our unit.
User Analysis
In engineering, it is important to understand not only what your product is supposed to accomplish, but the situation in which it will be used and who will be using it. Thus, user analysis is essential to the design of any product meant to be utilized on a daily basis.
This device will be primarily designed to be used by a single-family household in the rural Atacama region of Northern Chile. This area is still mainly agrarian, though mining companies have also flourished due to the area's rich mineral deposits. The families that will be using this product will be of the lower income bracket, mainly mine workers and subsistence farmers. Thus, the controls must be simple enough that a person with very little or no scientific education can utilize and maintain it. Repairs, filter changes and especially daily use must be as simple and user-friendly as possible.
Since our group is striving to design a low-cost, high-efficiency home desalination unit for rural northern Chileans, it is important not only to know about engineering principles, but about the unique motivations and needs of the customer and area. The Atacama region is distinctive due to its singularly arid climate, its lenient water rights system, and the culture of its people. All three of these areas required its own branch of research from our team.
Problem Situation/Opportunity
All the engineering knowledge in the world is useless if one cannot figure out how to apply it. As such, finding the proper problem to invest your time and attention in is one of the most important building blocks of a project such as this.
 |
| A mining pipeline in Chile (NYT) |
The group was first alerted to the problem in northern Chile by a New York Times article that GMG had found. The article detailed how, since the water rights system in Chile was very free-market, the mining companies were buying up all the available freshwater sources to use for their mines and plants, leaving small towns without a viable source of drinking water. A visit to the Wikipedia page for Water Resource Management in Chile confirmed this knowledge and convinced us that Chile was the area most in need of a device of this nature.
Environment/Climate
Researching the environment in which a device will be implemented, especially if it is an outdoor device, is integral to its success. One must learn the benefits and the disadvantages of the different characteristics of the area - what can you exploit? what should you watch out for? What must you resist? Knowing the setting is key to making the unit durable and efficient enough to properly provide for these people.
 |
| An aerial view of the Atacama region (NASA) |
The Atacama desert is the driest in the world. Any aerial moisture evaporates before it reaches the ground, so rainfall in the region averages less than a millimetre a year. We learned more about the peculiar weather patterns and circumstances that conspire to leave the Atacama region so arid through the National Geographic region profile and the Atacama desert Wikipedia page. Geography.about.com was also a helpful resource. Basically, research in this area convinced the group of the severity of the Atacaman drought and its chronic nature. Information here was also very helpful to our power-focused person, who noted that the almost complete lack of cloud cover made solar power an extremely viable source of energy for our unit.
User Analysis
In engineering, it is important to understand not only what your product is supposed to accomplish, but the situation in which it will be used and who will be using it. Thus, user analysis is essential to the design of any product meant to be utilized on a daily basis.
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| A street in San Pedro de Atacama |
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| Atacaman women |
Psychologically, the people of the Atacama region are proud and resourceful. Making a life on the edge of such a barren place as the Atacama desert has never been easy, so the culture of the area was founded in hardship. Because of this, a desalination device is more appealing to the population than importing fresh water, as it gives a feeling of independence and autonomy.
Summation:
Summation:
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Sources:
Barrionuevo, A. New York TImes. (2009, March 14) Chilean Town Withers in Free Market for Water. Retrieved September 1, 2011 from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/world/americas/15chile.html
Pukara, C. Alto Atacama Sector Suchor. (2011, March 17). Atacama Overview: Culture. Retrieved August 15, 2011 from http://www.altoatacama.com/index.php/culture
Pukara, C. Alto Atacama Sector Suchor. (2011, March 17). Atacama Overview: Culture. Retrieved August 15, 2011 from http://www.altoatacama.com/index.php/culture
Silva, P. Culture of Chile. Retrieved August 22, 2011 from http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Chile.html
Vesilind, P. National Geographic. Atacama Profile. Retrieved August 30, 2011 from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0308/feature3/
Wikipedia. (2011, August 20) Atacama Desert. Retrieved August 22, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atacama_Desert
Vesilind, P. National Geographic. Atacama Profile. Retrieved August 30, 2011 from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0308/feature3/
Wikipedia. (2011, August 20) Atacama Desert. Retrieved August 22, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atacama_Desert
Wikipedia. (2011, September 9). Culture of Chile. Retrieved September 9, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Chile
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