Yukikaki Research Station
Album

When we first went to look for possible materials for our installation in the local hardware stores, we were immediately impressed by the range of snow shovels (yukikaki). / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

There were also many other snow-related items for safety purposes. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

We were wondering how well the differently shaped yukikakis would work as wind turbines. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

We decided to start with three kids' size yellow yukikakis. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

When walking in the neighbourhood, we saw a sets of yukikakis near the entrances of houses, usually organised according to size and type. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

There were also lots of red-white sticks, which indicate that something such as a metal pole is hidden under snow. We used these kind sticks in the installation as a support structure. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

Some early sketches for the Yukikaki Research Station. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

The basic structure of the installation was built using the red-white warning sticks. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

The first wind turbine was made of the small, yellow yukikakis. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

The ballbearing of a wheelbarrow wheel was used to make the rotor spin smoothly. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

Testing and checking the dimensions of the yellow rotor. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

The second rotor was made from bright orange, roundish yukikakis. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

The second rotor in place. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

The last rotor was made out of snowball-making scoops. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

This rotor was the smallest and it was to be placed on top of the research station. It looks little bit like an anemometer. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

In order to measure the rotation speed of the three different rotors, we got some magnets. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

The magnets were attached to the axle of each rotor. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

A reed switch was also placed in the vicinity of the magnet, so that the rotations could be registered. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

We got some warning lamps and modified the circuit slightly so that we could have them blinking continuously. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

The brain of the Yukikaki Research Station, which includes a microcontoller board for reading the magnetic sensors and Wi-Fi capability for sending this data wirelessly (NodeMCU, ESP8266). / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

The circuit schematic. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

Programming the microcontroller with the Arduino IDE. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

Mobile interface, which enables people near the Yukikaki Research Station to view the rotation speed for each rotor via a Wi-Fi access point. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

Simulation of the data on the mobile interface. The graph displays rounds per minute (RPM) for each rotor over the past 12 hours. Had we worked longer and outdoors with the installation, it would have been interesting to go further and investigate the turbines' power and efficiency. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

Testing the Wi-Fi access point in front of the Sapporo Art Museum. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

All the crucial electronics were encased in a weatherproof box. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä

Final beauty shot of the Yukikaki Research Station at the Tenjinyama Art Studio. After taking this we dismantled and packed the installation, as otherwise we would not have been able to get it out of the room. / CC BY Niklas Roy & Kati Hyyppä