Life Cycle Analysis
// Original Houdini Digital Asset development for material Life Cycle Analysis //
Assessing environmental impacts is complex. Some methods are prohibitively complex and lengthy.
Even when complete, there can be a number of issues validating and communicating the results.
The Okala Impact Factor system is an easy-to-use, single-figure score that is ideal for simple screening and quick comparisons.
This Houdini Digital Asset is a plug-and-play, modular system to augment product concepting by applying these impact assessment calculations and displaying the results in the 3-dimensional text beside the object.
It allows users to compare the ecological and human health impacts of various materials, with user-controlled variables for each material.
A peer production effort
The proof of concept release will include several plastics, common metals, and wood products. Each material includes a range of appropriate fabrication methods, which can be selected with a switch. The fabrication method is visible in the scene beneath the material name. Multiple fabrication methods can be strung together inside the node, if a series of processes is used, such as welded sheet metal.
All values are taken from the Okala Practitioner: Integrating Ecological Design. The HDA is developed in a similar intent to the guide itself. It is not an exhaustive exploration of the environmental impacts of any one product but instead provides a guideline comparison for designers working in a time-sensitive context.
The asset is offered as an opportunity for users to learn and explore aspects of impact analysis as a way to inform product design and concepting in Houdini.
Initial release is expected on Github in summer 2022.