Electric Turbine Engine Design
Omer Larrañaga Design, Technology
Today, Grant has a really exciting project to show us, energy-efficient steam-powered turbines. When thinking of steam power, many might conjure up notions of old, behemoth trains and factories, but steam power is by no means confined to the industrial age of the 19th and 20th centuries. The team here has developed a number of […]
Proportional Valve For Controlling Gas
The burners for the incinerator toilet are fueled by propane gas. Since this system will be fully automated, we needed a way to automatically operate the valves to control the flow of gas to the burners. We are back in the workshop with Omer who has built a prototype to show how this will function. […]
Shower Assembly Update
There aren’t many things about the SeaPod that most people would consider ordinary. We are pushing the boundaries everywhere we can and the shower is no different. While it would have been easier to install a simple knob-controlled shower that you would find in most homes, we decided to go beyond what is normal and […]
Solar Turbine Testing Equipment
One of the most important research and development projects that we are focusing on is the development of a solar-powered steam turbine. We have spent the last year and a half working on this project and we have encountered a few difficulties that required some problem solving. There are many people around the world who […]
Demo: Smart Desalination System
We are back with Omer who has a demonstration of the operation of our smart desalination system. This is the reverse-osmosis filtration system that will supply the SeaPod with clean and safe drinking water. The system is powered by a one-horsepower motor that supplies the power to the pump which pressurizes the system. Reverse osmosis […]
Drone Delivery Services
We are back with Connor in Panama at the site from which our delivery drones will operate. This is the bay where the first SeaPods will be deployed and this site in the video will act as the home base for the delivery drones. As you may have read in our previous article about the […]
The SeaPod Poop Scale
The SeaPod uses a jet incinerator to dispose of the solid waste from our toilet system. This incinerator is fueled by propane so it is something that needs to be efficient so that it does not burn unnecessary fuel.We could not design the incinerator to operate on a regular basis based on time because depending […]
Polishing The Molds
We are back at the factory where our crew is working on the finishing steps of getting some of our molds ready for production. These 14 mold sections make up the top shell of the SeaPod, and they are quite large, with this being one of the smaller pieces. We recently removed these sections from […]
Raising the Side Spar
We are back at the factory doing some work on one of our TriPod bases. We are mounting one of the vertical sections that will be on the end of the outriggers. These vertical sections will house the ballast tanks that will keep everything floating properly. Additionally, options like the Wazebo will be built on […]
Hot And Cold Water Mixer For The Shower
Most homes have either a two-knob or a single-knob design for adjusting the water temperature in the shower. These allow us to adjust the temperature to make the water warmer or colder as needed. While this is a tried and true way of controlling the water in the shower, we want to take the SeaPod […]
Incinerator Flame Detector
The jet incinerator system will be a fully autonomous system that will monitor itself and run when needed. Since this system involves open flames and high heat, it has a few dangers associated with it. One of the safety measures that we are implementing is a flame detector. This sensor does exactly what its name […]
Safety Training – Gloves
Reynaldo Howell Other, Safety Training
Most industrial situations come with their fair share of workplace hazards, the Ocean Builders factory is no different. While we can’t remove the hazardous conditions from this line of work, we can make sure that our employees are properly trained to work safely to avoid injury or death. Here we have Reynaldo Howell, who is […]
After a hard days work
Grant Romundt Lifestyle, Other
The crew is working hard, and we can see them here finishing up after a long and productive day, led by the resident pup. As progress continues in so many areas, it feels great to be able to show our team clocking off for the day. In our video, you can really begin to appreciate […]
Mold Release Process
Each section of the SeaPod is made in a specially built mold that we use to form the fiberglass. Here we are at the factory with Connor to show the process of removing the finished fiberglass section from the mold. The fiberglass is hardened with a resin, but that resin also grabs onto the mold […]
Our First SeaPod TimeLapse
We felt that documenting the monumental work that we have been doing here at Ocean Builders was very important. In conjunction with these blog posts and videos that we have been making, we also set up a timelapse camera to make a hands-off video showing some of our progress.The first project that we are using […]
Smart Desalination System
This is an update on the desalination system that will supply the SeaPod with fresh water. Desalination is a somewhat common method of supplying fresh water to places that do not have enough natural freshwater. Many towns and homes around the world use desalinated water on a larger scale, we are building our own system […]
Smart Shower & Sink Parts Have Arrived!
The SeaPod is a smart home that brings various aspects of the home to life. Nearly every part of the SeaPod has integrated technologies that take the normal everyday tasks that we do and bring them into the future. The bathroom is no exception to that. From the motorized pocket door to the textured floor […]
SeaPod Core Design Changes
We are back at the factory with Grant for an update on a change that we have made to the design of the SeaPod core. The TriPod model has three outriggers, or side-spars, that extend from the center core to create the base. At the end of each of these outriggers are large ballast tanks […]
Pulling The SeaPod Molds
After about a month of work, the time has finally come to remove the SeaPod shell molds from the plug. This has been a long process but these molds will be what gives the SeaPod its shape so we had to get it right.These sections are considerably bigger than the molds for the bottom of […]
New Factory Security Protocols
Grant Romundt Other
Here at the Ocean Builders factory, we have someone on the premises 24/7 working as a security guard or watchman. Since we have quite a bit of valuable materials like fiberglass and resin as well as plenty of tools that could be a target for theft, we like to keep someone here as a deterrent […]