An educational animated visualization demonstrating electricity and resource consumption impact awareness.
The Vision
The Greenlite Project uses animated visualizations to help students understand their energy consumption impact. I co-founded TellEmotion with three colleagues to present electrical usage in an intuitive, emotionally appealing way.
How It Works
The system monitors campus electrical meters and displays data through an animated polar bear character whose emotional state reflects energy efficiency:
- High usage: Bear appears distressed with a melting environment
- Low usage: Happy, playful bear in a healthy environment
This approach leverages emotional engagement rather than purely financial incentives to drive behavior change.
Technical Stack
Frontend:
- Flash
- GWT (Google Web Toolkit)
Backend:
- Java with MySQL database
- Minute-by-minute electrical monitoring
3D Evolution
The project evolved into a 3D interactive web demo using Unity3D and C#.
My Contributions
- System architecture
- Meter communication code
- Server configuration
- 3D environment design
- Motion-capture animation (using my own movements for the bear)
Impact
The installation expanded beyond Dartmouth to other schools nationwide and reportedly decreased energy consumption over time while providing significant educational value.