Solar Array Layout
Here we have an overview of the solar panel array that will help power the SeaPod, EcoPod, and GreenPod. This panel layout is 5m x 5m so we will have 25 square meters of solar panels collecting energy from the sun to power the home. By our calculations, under normal use, this should be able […]
Balsa wood flooring
We have been doing some experimentation with some different materials to use as the flooring in the EcoPod. Our first tests were with a plastic honeycomb-like material that was strong and durable but isn’t very eco-friendly. While those tests were considered successful, we want to find a more eco-friendly material that we can use to […]
Wall Mold for EcoPod
We are back at the factory with an update about some of the EcoPod molds. What you can see in the video below are basically the “bones” of the eventual mold for some of the EcoPod wall sections. This backbone structure will be used to support the molds and give them their shape.The next steps […]
Sandblasting Metal Tubes
Grant has another factory update for us, this time about some of the sandblasting that we have been doing here at the Ocean Builders factory in Panama. We are working with steel, and the thing about steel is that especially in humid climates as we have here, it will develop a layer of surface rust […]
CI/CD for the Admin Dashboard
Our software development team is always looking for ways to optimize the development process so we can focus more on coding new features and spend less time doing repetitive tasks that can be automated.As part of these efforts, we have been working in a smooth CI/CD (Continuous Integrations / Continuous Delivery) pipeline that automates all […]
Follow me
The SeaPod, EcoPod, and EarthPod have so much technology packed into the small package that makes everyday life easier and more convenient. As with most technologically complex things, a smart home requires a bit of configuration and setting changes to adjust the home to have the settings that you want. While this is usually just […]
Shower Controller
Here we have a CAD drawing showing the enclosure for the shower controller and the custom PCB board that will be used within it. The shower controller acts as the brain of the smart shower system and reads and relays information between the sensors, the home automation app which will run on a tablet in […]
New Storage Containers
We recently took delivery of a new-to-us storage container here at the factory. We use containers like this for several different things but this one will be used as storage. These containers are great because they are designed to be stacked on ships when used for shipping, so that means that we can easily stack […]
Workhorse Boats
Grant wanted to bring everyone another update from the factory about two boats that we have been renovating over the past few months. The company that was using the boats previously hadn’t used them for quite a while so they were salvaged and we picked them up.The restoration process over the past few months has […]
Steel Edging
Grant is coming to you from the Ocean Builders factory here in Panama with another update on the steel tubes that we recently took delivery of. After getting everything unloaded, we began working on some of the prep that needs to be done to get these tubes ready for the next step.The steel is manufactured […]
Salt Water Tank Updates
The SeaPod has a smart desalination system that will take saltwater from the sea and turn it into usable freshwater for the home. This system will operate with a holding tank for saltwater in the engineering room and Omer is here to give a demo of how everything will work.The saltwater tank will be where […]
Preparing the Floating Spar
We have taken one more step towards getting the first completed SeaPod into the water. We have installed the “shelf” on the center spar of our first floating platform that will hold the weight of the actual home portion of the SeaPod. These brackets go around the center spar and create the main weight-bearing portion […]
Poop Test
Omer is back to give us a live demonstration of how the poop separator, the incinerator, and the heat exchanger will work together to safely burn all of the solid waste from the toilet and capture the heat that is generated during the process. This will allow the SeaPod to safely and responsibly dispose of […]
First Look at Gesture AI
Here we have a quick demonstration of the gesture AI that we will have as an option in the Ocean Builders homes. Gesture AI will use artificial intelligence to recognize simple gestures that will be used to control different actions within the home. This technology can be used for simple things around the house like […]
Bed Presence Detector
One of the biggest challenges with the SeaPod is the energy capacity. The SeaPod will not be connected to the municipal power grid so any electricity that is needed to power the home will need to be generated by the home. Because of this, electricity is a very precious resource that we don’t want to […]
Laying the EcoPod Flooring
We are back with another factory update from Grant. This update is about the flooring of the EcoPod. We have been working to install these floor panels over about eight hours to see how the fitment looks and how everything will work together. So far the results have been good.This was our second or third […]
Rubber Connector Material
When dealing with different materials like fiberglass and steel, it is important to protect them from each other. In this particular matchup, the steel will basically always damage the fiberglass if they are connected with no other materials between them. In this case, the fiberglass spar will be installed over the steel spar so we […]
Waste Water Treatment System
We have been spoiled quite a bit over the years of living in homes with running water. Most of us never worry about what happens with all of the wastewater in our homes because it either goes into a septic tank or back into the municipal sewer and waste system. That luxury is not something […]
Kitchen Sink Controller
To fit the minimalistic look that we want to achieve in the SeaPod, we are going with a kitchen sink design that utilizes capacitive touch instead of the traditional knobs or handles that you will find in most homes. This presented a few different challenges that we had to overcome but luckily for us, Omer […]
End to End Testing Using Cypress Framework
Talha Siddique Software
Testing is an incredibly time-consuming but essential step that has to be done in order to deliver reliable software.Using modern tools for automated end-to-end testing helps to greatly reduce the amount of time the quality assurance team has to spend on repetitive tasks like checking the usual user flows. The time saved can be used […]