In the first weeks, I had contact with my former clients to ask them what the daily problems caused by the corona virus they are facing. The thing that struck my most were the travel issues; they don't want to use public transport / taxi services anymore, because they are affraid to be infected.

After I did research and ideation sessions, I came up with the protection screen for in cars. On the internet I saw a lot of variations and implentations of this idea, but the bioplastic version was still missing. That's when I knew I wanted to make a bioplastic screen for in cars.

I called my former employer, RMC Amsterdam, to ask if I could measure out a car for my screen. They told me they already have corona protection screens installed in their cars. I immediately felt like my idea was obsolete, because they already have protection screens installed.

After some thinking I concluded that my project is still a solution to the current problem. The screens the taxis are using right now are made of plexiglass. When the corona crisis is over, most of these plexiglass screens are unnessecary and will be recycled. The proces of recycling plexiglass is hard, and will not be accepted by most recylcing companies. Bioplastic however can easily be recycled and molded over in other objects, without any extensive and harmfull recycling processes.

For my 1440 mm x 550 mm mold I need:

I can produce them with the laser cutter from CRE8:

Screen properties

I am already familiar with different bioplastic recipes. However, I made these bioplastics in small quantities and in small petri dishes. The screen I want to produce will be roughly 7,2m², so the material will probably behave different on a larger scale than I've tested before.

For my screen, I want to following properties:

• Translucent

• Lightly flexible

• Shatter-resistant

• Lightweight

I chose these properties concerning travel comfort and safety. I want the screen to be translucent, so the driver and passenger can communicate visually, and the driver can look through the back window of the car.

The material needs te be lightly flexible, because the application and margin of error (bumping your head against it) will be smaller and less harshly punished. It can't be too flexible though, because otherwise the screen will flop over and the purpose of the screen is nullified.

For safety concerns, the screen should be shatter-resistant. If one bump or shake can break the screen, it will create a dangerous situation.

At last, the screen should be lightweight. This has to do with flexibility and the other safety concerns stated above.

Testing on small scale : materials

From the materials that I've produced in week 7, the ones made from gelatine and agar agar were the most rigid. The ones I've made with corn starch are wet and sticky, and are not suitable for fabricating a protection screen.

The first test I conducted was with gelatine. I used a different recipe than I've made before. I used :

• 50 ml water

• 18 gram gelatine

• 2 gram glycerin

I cooked the batch and poured it into a petri dish. If the material satisfies my expectancies, I will make the same bioplastic on a larger scale with the same ratio. Unlike the previous time I made gelatine-based bioplastic, I scooped out the bubbles of air that rose up because of the heat. By doing so, the material is more clear and translucent.

On first impressions, I was satisfied with the look and feel of the bioplastic. Because I didn't add a lot of water, I hope the moisture in the bioplastic won't evaporate too much, causing a wrinkly and dried out bioplastic.

Gelatine bioplastic - day 2

When I checked my bioplastic one day after cooking, I noticed it wrinkled quite a bit. I guess this is due the amount of water and glycerin I used. This is not as desired, because I need the protection screens to be straight. In week 7 I cooked another gelatine bioplastic, however with another recipe. This one on the other hand is more rigid, so for my next experiment I will use the old recipe.

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