Archive
July 2022
35 articles
Cross Brace on TriPod Installation
This is a quick video showing how we install the cross braces that will give a little extra support and strength between the outriggers and the center spar on our floating TriPod base. The brace itself is made from a simple steel tube. We then have a template that we place on the tube to…
Production Controllers
Our homes have so much technology and automation packed into them and each aspect needs an electronic controller to communicate between the software and the hardware. Many of the things that we are developing for the Pods have never been done before, so that required us to design, prototype, and produce our own controllers.These controllers…
Quad Bilge Pump System
One of the most important safety features on boats and floating structures is the bilge pump. The bilge pump works by pumping water that is inside of the structure and putting it back into the ocean. While we can build our structures to be as watertight as possible, we still need to have bilge pumps…
EcoPod Roof Ring Installation
This outer ring for the EcoPod roof is made up of 28 smaller sections which are then put together into four pieces made up of seven sections each. These smaller sections are much easier to manufacture than a larger section so this process worked out pretty well. We assembled all of the pieces on the…
Hot Tub Manufacturing
Grant is back with another update from the factory. This time he is showing us some of the progress on the hot tub that will be an option to add to one of the three side spars on the floating base.The hot tub will sit on the top of the circular side spar, so naturally,…
Fiberglass Sprayer Arm
The crew have been building a large arm that we can use with our fiberglass spray gun to help make the process go faster. This arm will be great for spraying large areas during production.A good example of how this will help during production is when we have to make the huge “bowl” for the…
EcoPod Quarter Roof Section Installation Part 2
Part 2 of our process to get the EcoPod roof put together went fairly smoothly with only a few expected difficulties. Installing these roof sections was not easy and they take quite a bit of work to get properly fitted together, but we got the job done at the end of the day. Placing this…
Fiberglass Spray Gun
Our homes are made primarily of fiberglass sections that are formed in molds. When we take those sections and put them together, we have to lay sections of woven fiberglass fabric out and then roll a resin on them to harden them. This is very time-consuming and can be difficult when working in tight spaces.This…
EcoPod Quarter Roof Section Installation Part 1
This video shows the process of how we install the four quarter sections of the EcoPod roof. We made these four sections with a mold and finally started to put them into place. These pieces are large and cumbersome to deal with but with a bit of muscle and help from our telehandler, we were…
Underwater Window Frame in Production
We have made some good progress since our last update on the underwater room windows. We have gone from designs to beginning to manufacture the actual window frames.These windows for the underwater room have to be incredibly strong to withstand the pressure of being underwater, and they have to be very precise to properly seal…
Second Half Kitchen Floor Installation
This is a quick video to show how we are going about installing the second half of the kitchen/patio floor in our SeaPod prototype.We learned quite a bit after spending almost a full day installing the first half, so we attacked this one from a different direction. The first time involved a lot of manhandling…
Attaching the EcoPod Roof
As we move closer to getting the EcoPod prototype finished up, Grant wanted to share a bit of the process of installing the outer ring of the roof. This roof is made of 28 sections which are installed together to make a big donut shape. Once the outer ring is in place we will install…
Delivery Drone 11 – New Precision Landing System
Omer wanted to give us a quick visual demonstration of how the new infrared precision landing system for the delivery drone will work. This system uses an infrared beacon that emits a certain pattern of light that the receiver on the drone will look for and then lock on to.The beacon will be continuously emitting…
EcoPod Bathroom Sink Area
Most parts of our homes are built by using molds built from 3D printed designs to shape fiberglass panels that we will then fit together. Some pieces, however, use a different method. One example of that is the bathroom sink area of the EcoPod.The video below shows the process of how we are making the…
Smart Shower Activation to custom settings with NFC device
We want to make those small and annoying tasks that have become normal parts of our lives a thing of the past. When designing our shower, we wanted to take it to the next level. Not only is this smart shower completely customizable, but it will also remember your preferred settings and automatically apply them…
Multiroom audio
The Ocean Builders homes will have multiroom audio capabilities that will allow you to easily play and control the speakers in your home from our home assistant app. This system will allow you to play your music, radio, or podcast and listen to it throughout the home, or adjust the volume in certain rooms as…
SeaPod Production Molds Partial Assembly
We spent quite a long time producing the prototype molds for the SeaPod here at the factory, in fact, some parts took nearly two years to get right. These prototype molds are what we used to make the first prototype, but they won’t be what we use when the SeaPod goes into full production.We have…
EcoPod Rib Structure
The EcoPod roof has multiple uses and features. The most obvious is that it is a roof, it protects the people inside from the sun and rain, just like any normal roof. This roof will also have a slight cone-shape that will act as a funnel to collect rainwater to be used within the home.Those…
SeaPod Window Connection Bars
The SeaPod windows are just absolutely massive. They have been a massive challenge to manufacture but we finally have done what we started out to do three years ago. Now that we have found a company that has successfully manufactured the windows, we have to find a way to get them to the factory here…
Preparing Clay for First Coral Print
We are moving closer to getting our 3D printed coral habitat project rolling. The 3D printer that we are going to be using is able to print with a clay material instead of traditional plastic filament so we can be sure not to harm the water by putting more plastic in the oceans.The clay needs…
Coral Oven
We are creating 3D printed coral habitats with our new 3D printer that is able to print a clay material as opposed to a traditional plastic filament. The clay is safe for the ocean and provides a porous surface to help encourage coral growth.One of the things about working with clay is that it has…
Finishing Production of The Last Roof Quarter
We have been working on the EcoPod roof for the past few weeks and we are now finishing up production on the final section of the inner disk. The video below shows the process that the crew has to do to release each section from the mold. These 1.3cm fiberglass sections have an extremely tight…
Near Completion
We have been working on the second floating TriPod base for a few months and we are finally nearing the completion of it. Our first TriPod base has been in the water for some time now so we are excited to get the second one finished.You can see in the video below that all of…
SeaPod Kitchen Sliding Doors
The SeaPod will have a large set of sliding doors that will open up what is basically a wall of glass between the kitchen and the patio area to turn the kitchen/dining area into an open-air room. We wanted to find a way to implement this to truly open up the space and let you…
Roof Disk Mold
We are back at the factory for a quick update from Grant about the progress of the EcoPod roof. This will be a functional roof in a few different ways so we are really excited about it. The team has been making quick progress and it is starting to take shape.The roof is going to…
SeaPod Windows Complete!
When the SeaPod was originally designed, one of the things that Grant really pushed for was to have huge windows. One of the best things about living on the sea is having beautiful views, so without big windows to enjoy the views, what’s the point?It’s easy to say “Let’s have huge windows” and it is…
Interior Frame of EcoPod is taking shape
The frame of the EcoPod is really coming along now. We have the top portions of the walls installed and now we can really see where the windows will be. This top wall section will be where the roof eventually will be mounted. The installation of the bottom section of the walls was successful so…
Window Testing
Here at Ocean Builders we are always experimenting, testing, reiterating, and trying to do things better than before and find new ways to improve. We always know what we would like the outcome to be, so it is important to constantly do testing and experimenting to see if we are getting closer or further away…
Inserting the Floor
The time has come for the floor to be installed in the first SeaPod prototype. As with many aspects of the journey that we have gone on to bring these homes to life, it wasn’t easy and it took some time, thinking, and muscle to make it happen.You can see in the video below that…
Pod Admin Panel Updates (June)
Here we have a quick update on the Pod Admin Panel which is what the administrators will use to manage the computer and monitoring systems of each pod. This update shows a few things that we have been working on.The first part we have been polishing is the notification system. This will allow the admin…
3DCoral Printer Unboxing and Assembly
One of the big ambitions that we have is the 3D printed coral project that we are working on. Our goal is to be eco-restorative as much as possible and since coral reefs are sort of like the Amazon of the sea, we knew it was going to be important to us to do our…
Delivery Drone 10 – High Wind & Turbulence Stabilization and Testing
We are building our own delivery drone from the ground up so that means that we have to test everything as we go, there are no previous tests or a track record since we are custom building this drone.Since the SeaPods will be at sea, where there are usually steady or gusty winds, this drone…
Turtle Key Beach Cleanup with Reef2Reef and PanaSea
Connor took us along on a beach cleanup that he recently went on with some of our partners, Reef2Reef and PanaSea. They took a boat to a small island here in Panama and spent the day cleaning up trash that has washed ashore over the years.You can see in the video below that the amount…
Big Moves
We have some big moves happening here at the factory. The shell of the SeaPod prototype is assembled and reinforced and is now ready to be moved outside. We are moving it outside so that we can take the prototype of the EcoPod from our “front yard” to the inside of the factory where it…
Underwater Window Frame near completion
Omer Larrañaga Construction
We are excited to share that the window frame for the underwater room is nearing completion. This window will offer a 1-meter wide view from the underwater room out into the beautiful sea.The frame itself is made of steel and took about two and a half years to get from the first design to the…