In addition to our UAV delivery drone, we are also working on a USV drone that will be able to transport goods between the SeaPod and land. USV stands for Unmanned Surface Vessel, which basically is a fully automated boat that uses artificial intelligence to drive itself where it needs to go. Here we have Connor giving an interview and talking a little bit about this project.
The USV drone will be an electric-powered surface boat that will operate autonomously in a similar way to its aerial counterpart. The USV will dock itself in its own charging port in the marina so that it is always charged up and ready to go. Much like the aerial drone, you will be able to summon the USV to your SeaPod when needed.
At first glance, it may seem redundant to have both an aerial and surface drone that operate similarly but each one has its own benefits and use-cases. The surface drone has a few advantages over the aerial drone that are very important in the practicality and utility of these projects. Aerial drones are limited by the weight and size of the payload but a surface vessel can carry larger and heavier items across the water.
One example of the possible use of this surface drone is trash removal. On land, we can simply roll our trash out to the street or take it to the dump but of course, this becomes more complicated when living at sea. This vessel will allow you to simply load your trash onto the boat and it will automatically return it to land where it will be sorted to the proper places. This also avoids the risk of dropping trash into the ocean from an aerial drone.
If you have a heavy package or even a load of groceries, then this surface vessel can be loaded up by the crew on land and automatically navigate to your location and deliver your goods right to the SeaPod. It will be able to bring things to you and also take things back to land. The vessel will have watertight compartments to make sure that your items arrive dry, and we will also have a refrigerated compartment for things like temperature-sensitive medicines that have to stay cold.
While this technology will be used with the SeaPods, it is not limited to SeaPods. In the future, it is possible that we may be able to use this system to make deliveries to people who are traveling on boats, to people on more remote islands, or even to cruise ships that need an emergency delivery.
One of our priorities is making sure that the vessel itself is eco-friendly and does not disturb the marine ecosystem. We will use responsible materials when building the vessel and the AI technology will learn the area so that it can safely navigate around things like coral reefs and other marine life.
This project is still a work-in-progress and as always, if you have expertise in any field that is related to this project, then feel free to reach out on our Contribute page and submit an application. We would love to chat with you and hear what you are able to add to any of our ongoing projects!
