Innovation Design Engineering (MA/MSc)
Harry Barber
Harry is a designer and engineer who is motivated by impact and innovation. He takes a holistic approach that involves both the creativity and human-centredness of design as well as the testing and development of technical prototypes.
During his time at the RCA, Harry has designed an award winning portable renewable generator, developed a wearable that helps people to feel comfortable in hot environments, designed a system that creates value from waste for school children in Nairobi, as well as working part time for the design team at Brompton Bicycle prototyping and testing a new product.
Before joining the IDE programme, Harry completed an undergraduate degree in Engineering Science at Oxford University. In his spare time, he enjoys being outdoors, playing sport and spending time with family and friends.
Sponsors
1851 Royal Commission
Sycamore providing Portable Renewable Power in a remote location
The Sycamore aircraft flying through the sky in a figure of eight pattern
Sycamore is unique in two ways. The first is its portability. If you wanted to provide 10kW of power (enough to power a large UK home), you could use 70m2 of solar panels, a 15m high wind turbine, or Sycamore, which would pack down into a box the size and weight of a suitcase, making it extremely mobile.
The second way Sycamore is unique is its usability. Once I had built a working prototype of the technology, the majority of my work focused on making it reliable and easy for people to use. I did this through multiple rounds of surveys and interviews with potential users which helped me to develop the final design. The key part of the final design is the aircraft which is a blend between an inflatable kite and a drone, allowing it to launch, land and fly autonomously.
For the last 50 years, the mobile power market has been dominated by fossil fuel-dependent, highly polluting diesel generators. They are used worldwide in locations where there isn’t a power grid available or the grid is broken and some example contexts are disaster zones, construction sites, remote locations and festivals.
Sycamore is the first renewable option that has the potential to provide portable power in these contexts, and is therefore a step towards making sustainable, clean power possible everywhere.