Tag Archives: ocean

The Shield ‘Ocean Garbage Collector’ helps sustainably take care of our sea waste problem

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More than half of the world’s population lives near a coast… and while that fact is pretty interesting on its own, it also leads me to my next point – near-shore activities generate tonnes of waste that end up either affecting the marine wildlife around the coast, or just end up ruining coastal areas when waste gets washed ashore. The Shield, designed by Zeteng Yan, hopes to contain the problem before it gets out of hand. Designed as individual floating stations that could be deployed in large numbers along a coastline, the Shields help collect garbage by using the ocean’s waves to propel trash into their collection chambers. It runs entirely on tidal energy, making it a sustainable zero-emissions solution to our waste problem.

Designer: Zeteng Yan

The shield is connected to the shore via a rope, while its frontal module has a floating line going right out into the sea. This helps position the Shield better for improved efficacy. The way the Shield works is simple and quite ingenious. Water crashing against its V-shaped surfaces pushes any possible waste right into the Shield’s open mouth. Two cavities (one on the top and one at the bottom) help the Shield collect garbage at both high tide as well as low tide. The internal cavity eventually gets filled with trash, and humans can routinely unplug the two modules to collect the trash once it gets filled to the brim.

Arriving at the Shield’s unique shape was a big challenge for Yan, as it needed to be both efficient as well as aesthetic. These shields are located well within the viewing range of humans and needed to look visually pleasing, to say the least. Moreover, it was important that the Shield was designed to be incredibly effective too, keeping coastal areas clean of garbage and debris.  To ensure people venturing out into the sea didn’t collide with the Shields, solar-powered lights on its rim helped keep it visible, while also making it easy to locate for trash-collecting teams. If it does somehow break loose, an internal SOS beacon gets activated and the Shield’s GPS location is sent to the authorities.

The Shield runs entirely on renewable energy, using the tide to help trap garbage. It works 24 hours a day, helping take care of our waste problem. It even got a nod from the James Dyson Award, which gave the Shield a National Runner-Up title for the year 2022.

“If we can build a garbage collection and defense system along the coast, its role is like wearing a mask to the coastline, which can not only prevent garbage from entering the sea, but also prevent other non-local garbage from coming ashore”, said Zeteng Yan, who recently obtained a utility model patent for his design. Yan is currently in the process of building out a life-size prototype to test its efficiency and refine its final design.

Testing prototypes for the Shield’s shape and efficacy

The post The Shield ‘Ocean Garbage Collector’ helps sustainably take care of our sea waste problem first appeared on Yanko Design.

These luxurious floating pods are an eco-friendly + smart residence on the ocean

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I think you can now officially say goodbye to yachts, and sea-facing homes as Ocean Builders is brewing up something better than both of them combined! The Panama-based company designed “the world’s first eco-restorative floating homes”. Created by Dutch architect Koen Olthuis, these luxurious homes will come in three stunning models – SeaPod, GreenPod, and EcoPod.

Designer: Ocean Builders

These aquatic abodes are the perfect culmination of quality craftsmanship and green tech, providing you with a comfortable and sustainable experience on the seas. The SeaPod is quite aptly created for aquatic living, whereas the GreenPod is engineered for land, and EcoPod is the environment-friendly option.

The SeaPod was designed to tackle the issue of lack of space in popular seaside destinations. Ocean Builders CEO Grant Romundt said, “Every day thousands of people all over the world move closer to the top 15 major metropolitan cities which are within 50 miles of a coastline—a trend that will continue to grow…We’ve been motivated by the opportunity to change and challenge the traditional real estate and tourism models and create first-in-class living experiences that can give back to our ocean environment”.

These futuristic offshore structures are almost eight feet above the water and provide 83 square feet of living space. The interiors feature a bedroom, a living room, a bathroom, a kitchen, and an impressive storage space. Occupying three levels, the pods also feature 575 square feet of panoramic windows and a patio that provides unparalleled and unobstructed views of the ocean.

The cherry on the icing would be the fact that these pods are smart! The residents can control the lighting, temperature, and even the water pressure of showers! Each pod is accompanied by a wearable smart ring for the owner – which allows them to lock and unlock doors, turn on music, and much more. In fact, a fleet of drones will drop food, medicines, and other miscellaneous items to the pods, whereas larger autonomous vehicles will be used to deliver bigger items.  While you enjoy your luxurious stay in the floating pods, Ocean Builders has ensured that a natural habitat for ocean life will be created below each structure.

Luxurious, sustainable, and smart, these floating pods are completely redefining life on the ocean!

The post These luxurious floating pods are an eco-friendly + smart residence on the ocean first appeared on Yanko Design.

This fleet of autonomous ‘saildrones’ use solar and wind power to collect data during a hurricane!

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Saildrone, a maritime research company and “world leader in oceangoing autonomous surface vehicles,” has launched a fleet of saildrones to collect first-of-its-kind hurricane data via advanced sensors and AI technology.

It’s been said we know more about outer space than we know about the ocean. In the grand scheme of Earth, we might not know too much about the deep blue that surrounds us, but that doesn’t mean it can’t tell us about the rest of our world. Today, a fleet of five autonomous saildrones has been launched from Florida and the Virgin Islands by Saildrone, a maritime research company, to collect data on hurricanes, spending three months at sea where the fleet will compile the first hurricane research of its kind completed by ‘uncrewed’ surface vehicles (USVs).

With news regarding climate change and tropical storms flooding our timelines, our eyes and ears are more tuned in than ever in anticipation of new data. For decades, the ocean has provided scientists with the data necessary to understand climate change, hurricanes, carbon cycling, and maritime security.

The fleet of saildrones is comprised of solar and wind-powered USVs that acquire data on climate change and weather conditions through AI technology and over 20 advanced sensors, leaving a minimal carbon footprint while exploring international ocean waters. Amounting to around 1,500 pounds, each saildrone comes equipped with a photovoltaic sail that’s designed to keep each saildrone powered up as it sails right into the eye of a hurricane.

All in an effort to understand hurricanes and global weather events, for years Saildrone has been developing the technology necessary to map the ocean floor while measuring water temperature, salinity, chemical composition. Once programmed for navigation, the saildrones can sail autonomously from waypoint to waypoint.

During their voyage, the USVs remain within a user-defined safety corridor and are monitored by a Saildrone Mission Control operator. Spanning from Arctic waters to the Atlantic Ocean, saildrones have collected data on weather and climate science from waters all over the globe.

Designer: Saildrone

This ergonomic washing machine design helps save our oceans by filtering out microplastics!

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Martina Mancini’s Ocean washing system is as sustainable as it is ergonomic, with special filters that recycle out microplastics and hidden adaptive features for intuitive and accessible operation.

Each time we wash a load of laundry, microfibers detach from our favorite polyester and acrylic clothes and end up in wastewater. Contributing close to 35% of the microplastics found in our oceans, washing machines are due for a sustainability cleanup. Designer Martina Mancini was recently recognized by The James Dyson Award for her work in developing an ergonomic washing machine called Ocean that filters out microplastics and recirculates the water used between cycles.

With Ocean, Mancini set out to develop a washing machine that’s friendly to the environment and ergonomic for most users. The Ocean is designed like preexisting washing machines, equipped with a basket, drum, and display control panel, to ensure familiarity during use. Once the clothes are placed inside Ocean’s drum and basket, users can start their wash cycle by selecting one on the machine’s front display panel. From there, water flows into the drum from a centrifugal pump that’s connected to a purification filter to prepare the water for recirculation once the cycle is complete.

The post-cycle water purification process first passes through a stainless steel sieve grid and then a polyester filter sponge to remove larger microplastics. Following that, the water surges into a pipe that’s connected to the machine’s centrifugal pump, which propels the water against a hollow fiber membrane through a tangential filtration process. Once the filtration process makes its rounds, the water is purified by an Ozonator before recirculating for future use. Ensuring that Ocean is as ergonomic as it is sustainable, Mancini designed the washing machine so that users can remove the machine’s filters on their own before obtaining a new one from an offsite factory. There, company workers will remove and recycle the microplastics to give them a new life.

Given that the hardware required to construct Ocean would be bulky, Mancini knew the washing machine would reach a higher height than those already on the market. Working with a bigger machine allowed Mancini to incorporate more ergonomic features, including an adjustable table located beneath the drum, where users can prepare their laundry before and following washing cycles.

Designer: Martina Mancini

This bamboo beach-shack was designed to look like a massive goldfish!

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I’m fully aware of how bad my pun game is right now, but Thilina Liyanage’s Beach bar looks absolutely ‘fin’credible! Designed to resemble a scaled-up model of a goldfish, the Beach Bar looks stunning from every angle. The fish’s hollow body serves as the bar + counter area, while the space right beneath the tail provides ample seating. Made with an underlying bamboo structure, the Beach Bar comes with a fish-scale-inspired golden fabric clad that gives the bar its fishy appearance from the outside, while providing partial shade on the inside during the day. Once the sun sets, though, the lamps on the inside help give the fish a distinct diffused warm glow, making it look like the goldfish is glowing – a sight that’s even more fascinating when viewed from the top!

The Beach Bar has a staircase entrance near the tail area, with multi-level seating, and a balcony located right at the mouth, giving you a stellar view of the ocean. Liyanage’s Beach Bar, sadly, exists just as a concept… although the designer has made his 3D model available for free to download… so you could potentially pop on your VR headset, make yourself a cocktail, and indulge in a virtual walkthrough!

Designer: Thilina Liyanage

US, Europe and SpaceX launch a satellite to track rising global sea levels

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Scientists should soon have an easier time studying rising sea levels as climate change takes hold. NASA and the ESA have partnered with SpaceX to launch the Sentinel 6 Michael Freilich ocean tracking satellite. The spacecraft will gauge sea levels w...

The world’s first item-tracker made from recycled ocean-plastic

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The choice of material for Chipolo’s latest Ocean Series trackers is quite poetic if you ask me. The trackers help you keep track of your personal belongings – things of value to you – but ironically or poetically enough, they’re made from the things you don’t consider valuable… single-use plastics.

Through a strategic partnership with Oceanworks.co to source ocean-based plastic waste, the Chipolo ONE Ocean tracking device comes made with a recycled-plastic body. Fishing nets, trawls, and ropes floating in the sea are collected in the shallow areas of the ocean near the shoreline, before being cleaned, treated, and turned into polypropylene plastic pellets. These pellets are the primary raw material used to create the outer body of Chipolo’s tracking device. While it isn’t much plastic to begin with (each tracking chip is the size of a coin), Chipolo is committed to helping reduce plastic waste in the ocean… in fact, they’re even committing to pledge $1 from the profits of each Chipolo ONE Ocean sold towards the non-profit organization Oceanic Global to support ocean clean-up efforts.

The Chipolo ONE Ocean joins its popular line of tracking devices, helping you keep track of your belongings from your keys to your wallet, or even your backpack. Just attach your Chipolo to any item you want to track and connect it with the Chipolo app on your iPhone or Android phone. You can ring the tracking device from the Chipolo App to find them, or see its last known location on a map, if they’re out of the Bluetooth range. The devices are backward-compatible too, and you can double press your Chipolo device to help locate your connected smartphone if you can’t find it. Each Chipolo ONE Ocean comes powered by a CR2032 coin battery, giving it a battery life of up to 2 years.

Designers: Chipolo in collaboration with Oceanworks.co and Oceanic Global

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There could be as many as six billion Earth-like planets in our galaxy

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Is humanity alone in the universe? It’s a question that mankind has grappled with for literal ages, and while Hollywood has spent decades feeding our curiosity with depictions of little green men and pew-pewing lasers, scientists have taken a more ca...

Almost a fifth of Earth’s ocean floor has been mapped

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Us humans know more about the surface of the Moon than we do Earth’s oceans, but there’s progress on closing that gap. The Seabed 3030 Project reports (via BBC News) that scientists have mapped 19 percent of ocean floors to contemporary standards, or...