Honorable Mention

Solution

The coral is the bedrock of the submarine ecosystem, and today it’s endangered. We are imaging our world in the best future possible. From this departure point, we have created the project, named Color the Sea : is a system that allowed the sea bed to be recoralised at a large-scale. Thanks to submarines nurseries managed by aquatics drones named Karl. Karl is inspired by the jellyfish to ensures the best ergonomics movement.

Project Description

Color the Sea is based on an aquatic drone named Karl.

He uses his first arm with zooxanthellae sensor, to analyze the coral cutting. If it’s alive, will catch it with his pliers and he cuts with his third arm. Karl opens his head to place the coral in storage. He goes back to the nursery, located near to the coral shelf. He drops off the cutting, and then self-recharges with his turbine.

Meanwhile, the nursery goes up and down to ensure a good development for the cuttings. It is a powered by wave energy. The cuttings need 6 months to become a fully-developed coral. After this 6 months, Karl comes back to the coral and replaces them in areas with sparse coral life.

Thanks to Karl’s camera and sensors, the pictures and various data he collects are sent to a website to inform the public about his lead. Then, the public can donate to the project if they wish.If Karl ever breaks, his system can activate a floating security device and Karl can be removed from the water.

Overview of the Solution

Thanks to aquatic robots we managed to recoralised a large area of endangered reefs, which would have been impossible relying solely on human labour. Our robot, Karl, has been designed to integrate perfectly into the underwater world, hence its jellyfish-inspired shape. Thus, it will be able to collect a certain number of coral cuttings in its storage area to then bring them to the nursery, where the corals will be able to develop perfectly.

The nursery has been thought out so that it can then regulate itself thanks to the wave power to keep the corals at the perfect temperature to develop. During the 6 months when the corals are developing, Karl will be able to recharge itself thanks to his integrated tidal turbine which uses the force of the currents. Our robot is eco-designed so that it can be completely dismantled and recycled: its membrane is made of EPDM, a 100% recyclable natural rubber and its clamps are made of stainless steel, which is now a recycled material that can be recycled and recycled ad infinitum.

Once Karl is recharged and the corals have grown, Karl will be able to retrieve the corals from the nursery and deposit them in the coral reefs. Thanks to Karl’s camera and sensors, the pictures and various data he collects are sent to a website to inform the public about his lead. Then, the public can donate to the project if they wish. If Karl ever breaks, his system can activate a floating security device and Karl can be removed from the water. The Robots work area to area. After a year, when an area is entirely recolored, robots get back to the surface, and are recovered by a boat. The boat takes them to the next area. Again and again until the earth is completely recolored.