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AWARE: FACILITATING INFORMED CONSUMER PURCHASING DECISIONS THROUGH POINT-OF-SALE ACCESS TO PRODUCT SUSTAINABILITY INFORMATION
Description:
There is a fundamental challenge to sustainability in designing an appropriate, practical, and flexible information system through which consumers can obtain and consider relevant environmental ramifications of the goods they purchase every day. Hence, the Aware concept is proposed to address the challenge of informing consumers of the broader environmental repercussions of individual purchasing decisions at the point-of-sale. The project scope focuses not only on the technical elements of database design and wireless data transfer, but also on the collection, aggregation, and organization of data for a chosen class of products and the development of a method, or "aesthetic," of presenting this information to consumers at various levels of detail in a way that is understandable, practical, and customizable. The availability of relevant information will support an adaptive education process between the consumer and the broader effects of relatively "ordinary" marketplace decisions, driving advancement towards sustainability culturally and technologically.
The Aware project will function as an educational tool in several important ways. First, design, development, and implementation of Aware will be accomplished through the participation of several interdisciplinary student design teams from graduate (e.g., ME 589, Eco-Design and Manufacturing) and undergraduate (e.g., ME 450, Capstone Design and Manufacturing Experience) courses. Secondly, student members of the University of Michigan Engineers Without Borders / Engineers for a Sustainable World (EWB/ESW) organization will be able to participate directly in the development of Aware by working with the team of principal investigators and consulting with student teams. A component of Aware will be allocated to a designated EWB/ESW team. EWB/ESW members represent various engineering disciplines, including aerospace, civil/environmental, electrical engineering and computer science, chemical and mechanical engineering.