Archive
June 2022
26 articles
Pod Watercraft and People Lifting Mechanism
This was an idea that we had for lifting small watercraft like a jet ski, paddleboard, kayak, or a small boat from the water level up to the level of the Pod. In addition to watercraft, it could be also used to lift people from the water to the Pod.This could have several uses like…
Stair Cover Design
We have had a spiral staircase here at the factory for about a year and a half that we use to get to the second level of our offices. We wanted to build this staircase to the exact dimensions that we will be using in the spar of our homes so that we could test…
We have contact!
We have a pretty big operation going on here at the factory as we move our EcoPod prototype from the yard at the factory to the floating TriPod base that is in the marina. We wanted to just do a test to see how everything would fit together before we add all of the weight…
Surveying Locations for Deep Water SeaPod
One of the things that we are looking into is a Deep Water SeaPod. The first SeaPods will be in waters that are no more than 25 meters or about 80 feet of water, but we want to explore the option of going deeper. Rüdi went on a little expedition to explore a possible location…
Minor Procedure on SeaPod
We built the SeaPod roof upside down so when it was finished, we had to get it flipped over. We called this process The Flippening and it was quite the feat. We didn’t want to put the weight of the roof directly onto the fiberglass roof material so we built a steel frame on the…
Delivery Drone 9 – Locking on Target
We have made a few revisions to the precision landing system that will allow our drone to lock on to the landing area and land precisely on target every time. Our original plan was to use an infrared tag which the cameras on the drone would locate and then use to align the aircraft for…
Bio AI Camera Location Scout
Biodiversity AI is one of the coolest emerging technologies that we are really excited about. This tech will allow us to view and monitor the biodiversity in the area so that we can see how things change and grow over time. The AI will be able to identify species that are in the area and…
EcoPod Roof Assembly Part Two
Connor is coming to us from the factory with an update on the assembly of the first EcoPod roof. We previously had an update from Grant about the progress of the outer ring and now we are making progress on the center portion which will have more utility than just a normal roof.To start, we…
Protecting Steel from Rusting
One of the biggest battles between man and ocean is the constant corrosion that comes from putting materials that are used in ships and marine structures like steel into the water. The marine environment is incredibly corrosive to metals and if we just built our TriPod bases and threw them in the water, they would…
Underwater Window Frame Design Simulation
We have a design for an underwater room that will be below the SeaPod, and totally underwater. Dealing with water pressure is a very important factor when going underwater and when lives are at stake, it is the top consideration to keep things safe. The easiest solution would simply be to make solid walls with…
SeaPod Living Room Window Mold Production
The SeaPod will have an absolutely massive panoramic window in the living room that will provide stunning views of the outside world. These windows were a serious challenge to design and engineer due to their size and their curved shape, but as with every challenge we have faced, we found a way to make it…
We love crypto but we found a way to give fiat a makeover
Here at Ocean Builders, we love technology and innovation, and cryptocurrencies are no exception to that. While we think crypto is great, and probably the way of the future, we also accept that fiat currency isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Cryptocurrencies are kept in a digital wallet but fiat, or good old cold hard…
EcoPod Walls Taking Shape
The EcoPod walls are really coming together as we get them mounted in place on our first prototype. We have spent quite a bit of time getting our wall section molds ready and now we are ready to throw things into production. So far, the walls are coming along nicely and things are looking great.The…
Delivery Drone 8 – Precision Landing System
This is a quick demonstration to show how the precision landing system for our delivery drones will be able to find and then track the landing pad to land and drop the delivery exactly where it needs to go.We don’t have mailing addresses in the ocean so the drone uses GPS coordinates to navigate to…
EcoPod Roof Assembly Part One
We are at the factory with an update on the EcoPod roof from Grant! We spent the day assembling the 28 roof sections to make this big donut which will be the outer edge of the EcoPod roof.We went with this design because we wanted to have a rain collection system that can catch the…
Sunroof Design
The SeaPod needed a way to have access to the roof from the inside of the home so we came to the conclusion that a roof hatch would be the best option. Since the SeaPod is designed using curves and circles, we decided to go with a circular roof hatch that is located directly in…
Walkway Prototype Design
The TriPod model has the option for different additions to the end of the outriggers like the Wazebo, a hot tub, or a spot to dock your boat. The problem is that the outriggers will be fully submerged so we need some sort of walkway to take you from the center spar to the outer…
Door Nearing Completion
The first prototype “front” door of the SeaPod is nearing completion. This is the main door that will be installed on the center spar and will lead to the spiral staircase that will take you up the spar and into the Pod home.This door was a big challenge, but we are finally seeing the light…
Delivery Drone 7 – New Cargo Release Mechanism
We have been building a custom delivery drone that will be able to bring deliveries of things like food, packages, medicine, and anything else that you might need or want to be delivered to your Pod. The drone will stay at its home base where it will be loaded with the delivery and then autonomously…
First use of new Telehandler
We recently acquired a new(to us) telehandler here at the factory. A telehandler is a piece of equipment that is sort of like a forklift combined with a boom lift. It can lift several tons of weight and has wheels so that we can not only lift but also move heavy materials or equipment around.This…
Smart Pod User Interface – Customized Backgrounds
We are developing our own home automation app that will be used to control and monitor the various systems within the home. This app will be like the control center to control the lights, temperature, appliances, music, blinds, door locks, and also be able to check the status of the many sensors that are part…
Installing the Sides of the Seapods
The SeaPod has three main sections, the bottom, the roof, and the sides. These side sections are critical when it comes to securing the roof section and the bottom section to hold everything together. The sides are the last section to be installed so it can be a little bit tricky.Building this first SeaPod prototype…
Delivery Drone 6 – Digital Twin
Here we have what we are calling the “digital twin” of our first delivery drone build. This digital rendering is an exact image of what the drones will look like, down to the millimeter. We can use this model to 3D print individual pieces and see how everything fits together.This is essentially what the finished…
SeaPod Production Mold Progress
We have spent the last almost two years designing, building, and perfecting the prototype molds for the SeaPod. These are the molds that we have been using here at the factory to build the first prototype of the SeaPod. The prototype molds also acted as a form of research and development for our production molds…
Inaugural Pod’s Anchor Deployment
The first SeaPods and EcoPods that we will launch will be floating on our TriPod base. The outriggers will sit about a meter below the water but the entire structure will be floating. These homes don’t have a propulsion system so we have to use an anchor below each outrigger to keep them in place.These…
Shipping a SeaPod!
Grant Romundt Design
We are planting the SeaPod seed here in Panama, but our eventual goal is to have SeaPod homes in every corner of the ocean, all around the world. Now, that is much easier said than done, and it means we will have to ship homes our factory being located in Panama, at least at first.Eventually…