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Modular Wave-Powered Ocean Home
Team Concept
Our concept, the Modular Wave-powered Ocean House (MWOH), is a semi-spherical 1-room ocean house powered by renewable energy and built to be completely self sustainable. The MWOH incorporates a buoy-like wave energy generator and solar panels to provide power. In addition, it has a gyroscopic stabilizing system to ensure that the inhabitants will not get sea sick. This innovative product features an aesthetically appealing design, and is perfect for resorts and individuals who are environmentally conscious.
A MWOH could be purchased by an individual, or several could be purchased by a hotelier or resort company, to form a MWOH community. The MWOH could be easily marketed to the upper-class as an “ultra-green” luxury dwelling.
Unlike previously conceptualized floating houses, which rely on a power grid, the MWOH would obtain all of its electrical power from an array of thin-film solar panels on the roof of the house, and also from the wave energy converter that is built into the lower half of the house. Human waste and trash will be transported to shore for processing (waste management is more efficiently handled when there is a community comprised of multiple MWOHs). The MWOH has its own integrated desalination machine to produce potable water. Other basic day-to-day needs, such as groceries, will be supplied on shore. This type of lifestyle is most efficient in close proximity to a city, so that inhabitants of a MWOH or a MWOH community can have easy access to even more healthcare, food, and entertainment.
The house itself would be spherical in shape, with the upper hemisphere, which is the inhabitable portion, above the water level. The area directly below the top of the shell is reserved for the solar-powered air conditioning. The lower portion of the house, which is for waste and water storage and generating power, among other things, is submerged in the ocean. Suspended from the bottom of the house is a wave energy converter.
The entire house is loosely tethered to the ocean floor, and a 6 foot wide ring surrounds the house at the water level, acting as a walkway.
Boathouses and other types of floating houses have been built before. However, many of them were intended to be situated on lakes, since waves in the ocean would cause problems for those living in the houses. The Modular Wave-powered Ocean House solves this problem by having two concentric spherical and hemispherical shells, with the hemispherical ones inside the spherical one. The shells can rotate with respect to each other through the use of three motors evenly spaced between the two shells.
Multiple gyroscopic sensors are used to control the motors so that a person standing on the base of the hemispherical shell will barely feel the ground move even as the rest of the house tilts from side to side and back and forth on the ocean waves. The outer shell includes UV protection and the inner is tinted so as to provide privacy while maintaining a beautiful view of the shore. There are no windows in the traditional sense—the walls are translucent, with a few transparent patches. The only openings are two extremely thick double-layered watertight doors, and a few automatically-sealing air vents.
Team Description
We are four juniors who attend Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) a highly ranked specialized high school for students interested in the sciences. Between the four of us, we have taken a variety of different classes including Quantum Physics, Advanced Optics, AP Bio/Chem/Physics, Computer Assisted Design, and Multi-variable Calculus. Members of the team are also on the Math and Physics team and have held internships both abroad and locally at research institutions such as the Office of Naval Research. We are all very enthusiastic about the upcoming Innovation Summit and welcome the opportunity to learn from this experience.
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Luke Cheng
Daniel Wang Judy Zeng Allison Koenecke Advisor Ningjiang Cheng |
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
6560 Braddock Rd.
Alexandria
Virginia 22312
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Development Plan
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Overview of Plan:
After the Summit, we hope to learn more about the market and technologies incorporated in our concept. We’ll also file a patent and contact venture capitalists to raise funds for the further development and marketing of the MWOH.
Total Cost of the Plan:
10000
Feedback
[Post Feedback]
Simmy Shu
cool idea i hope you huys win =)
Chris Mantel
Hey guys,
This is a great idea and I'm impressed with your work! (Hope you win :)
However, your proposed cost says that the project will be around 10,000 dollars. According to previous study that I conducted independently, enough monocrystalline or polycrystalline solar paneling to cover the roof will alone cost over 30,000. Unless you guys are going to rely almost 90% on ocean power, I suggest that you change your proposed plan to over 100,000. Maybe even higher.
Anyways this is in no way a negative comment, in fact I happen to think you're the best group out there.
Chris Mantel
Wes Kurowski
I'm deeply impressed by your project proposal. The concept of having a house THAT FLOATS is amazing! I hope your cool idea gets the recognition it deserves.
Michelle Fisher
Very innovative design. Good Luck!
Carolyn Gecan
Hi, kids! I'm so impressed by the innovation you designed. Your habitat opens new vistas for oceanic research that make me wish I were younger and could volunteer for the test phase.
You've come a long way since Hum I, and yet the magic of the canoe year lives on in your design. You're back on the water.
Ms Gecan
Robert Latham
This is a very creative idea and I am glad that you have considered other important factors to help make the concept truly self-sustainable. I wish you the best of luck for your entry and its future implementation.
Thank you all for your support and feedback. We will be incorporating many of the good ideas that you all have brought up and hope to address any questions about our design in this post.
Many of you have voiced your concerns about the motion that inhabitants may experience while being inside a MWOH. First of all, we would just liked to remind everyone that the MWOH is tethered to the ocean floor and has a built in gyroscopic stabilizing system designed to eliminate much of the motion associated with living on the ocean. However, because we realized that a gyroscopic stabilizing system would never eliminate all motion associated towards living at sea, our purpose for introducing this system onto the MWOH was because it would reduce enough of the motion so that the inhabitants living in the MWOH would experience far less motion than inhabitants living on a ship. Thus, people who have traveled on ships, and people who do not have extreme cases of motion sickness should feel comfortable living in the MWOH.
In regards to the psychological aspects of living in a MWOH we do not believe that living in the MWOH would cause any negative psychological impact. The transparency of the outer and inner shell of the MWOH is designed so that inhabitants will have plenty of natural light and always have a view of the sky and ocean. If privacy is an issue, inhabitants can merely move the folding screens or have curtains installed. It is our hope that by allowing inhabitants to experience the breathtaking views of nature, we will be enhancing inhabitants' mental well being.
The Wavebob device that we use in our concept has already been tested and was created by one of the world's leading wave energy companies,Wavebob Ltd. We expect to get at least 500kW from the Wavebob device, but we can not accurately state how much energy we expect to receive from the solar panels as the energy output will be vary depending on location. However, we are confident that through these two renewable energy sources, the MWOH will be able to be completely or almost completely energy self sustainable.
If we did not answer your prior question or if you have another question that you would like to ask us, please leave us a message and we will respond to your message as soon as we can.
Thanks,
Team TJ Alpha
Nick Parks
Here's another ocean home to help with ideas. Too bad it cannot provide it's own energy! http://www.sub-find.com/trilobis65.htm
Chengjie Huang
Hey guys. This is a great concept. It definitely has some practical implementation. One question I have is motion sickness. Gyroscopic stabilizing system would neutralize rotational motions, but horizontal and vertical motions can be violent. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I picture a room that does not tilt but jerks sideways and up-and-down a lot. Perhaps design it as an add-on to existing boat houses.
George Wang
Wow, what a great idea!
John Brown
What do you mean by self-sustainable?
I see that you've included a system for obtaining fresh water, but what about food?
Also, I suggest a system for communication with the outside world, like a satellite dish, especially since members of the general public might not like being isolated. Even scientists on research trips need to talk to other people.
Xiao-Bang Xu
It is great idea to generate electric power using ocean wave energy. Your team did an outstanding job!
Norman Baucker
Numerically, what level of energy output do you expect from the wave energy generator and solar panels?
Is your design more efficient than simply building a home on land and powering it using renewable energy, possibly from traditional solar power and wave power sources?
T. Burgundy
Regardless of the gyroscope, you would still be accelerating back and fourth. It seems impossible to live in one of these systems.
In response to Mr. O'Connell's question:
Yes, forming communities from multiple MWOH’s is an important aspect of our concept. Since each MWOH is tethered to the ocean floor, in order to make a simple community, one would just tether multiple MWOH’s in close proximity to each other and install walkways connecting the individual units together. Another possibility is to connect the waste and water tanks from each MWOH to a central storage unit. This would make waste disposal more convenient for the community. Having a central unit could also lessen the individual responsibility of obtaining food and basic supplies. As for debris, unless it is unusually sharp and heavy, it should not pose a problem to the heavy duty carbon-fiber reinforced polymer that makes up the inner and outer shells of the MWOH. Also, I think that providing shelter for communities of fish and predators would not affect the marine ecosystem detrimentally; rather, it would allow for more species diversity.
In response to Mr. Robinson's question:
Our product, although not meant for mass consumption, does incorporate many ground-breaking “green” technologies, such as thin-film photovoltaic cells, and a wave energy converter. Furthermore, our design allows heat to be very efficiently conserved. Although our concept will not directly enable the United States as a whole to become less dependent on fossil fuels, we hope that the MWOH will set an example and pave the way for further development of renewable energy technologies.
Jeff Hobson
Looks great! I do agree that it will probably not have an incredibly large domestic market (mainly due to the psychological reasons earlier stated), but people pay a lot of money for new, interesting, and luxurious experiences, especially when on vacation. My one question (not to be confused with OneQuestion -- what a terrible idea) is how would the inhabitants travel to shore and back? Any sort open-top boat would be unpleasant in certain seasons and generally cost much more than today's automobiles (if you're looking for quality). Also, has a prototype of the WaveBob been tested yet? I would love to see the effectiveness of such an object (possibly post a video?).
Go TJHSST!
Jeff Hobson
P.S. Nice logo!
Nick Parks
To clarify, I was referring to whether the person would feel uneasy living in your house. Long term residents of the house could potentially experience anxiety, as the structure is so alien to them. The transparency of the structure could induce the irrational fear of someone watching them, a feeling which should logically be discarded due to the isolation of the house, but in reality would only be exacerbated. In addition, the hemispherical living space could potentially disorient people accustomed to living with corners, and would require special furniture to fit, further alienating the resident. Having said this, the above only becomes a real problem as you attempt to have regular people live in this. I now know that you understand this to be sold as a specialty item, so I suppose the buyer would not complete the purchase if they were unhappy living in it. Referring to the bobbing, a well designed gyroscope stabilization for your situation could prevent much unwanted movement, except for lateral displacements along the axis of the wavebob's shaft(doing so would exert a stabilization force on your energy generator, greatly lowering yield). Also, these systems don't react to well to being overpowered- commercial models used on boats have a warning against being used in large waves. So overall, the base idea is sound, and I look forward to seeing how this turns out.
Brendan O'Connell
Also, are there opportunities to merge or connect multiple units into one large living space? Are you worried about any debris in the water hitting the shelter or the shelter getting beached? Plus, wouldn't the shelter atract many fish and other animals, making it a natural hunting ground for bigger predators and harming the ecosystem?
Brendan O'Connell
Looks like a very cool invention. I would definently visit there as a tourist. Just one question, how do salt and erosion (if they do) affect the outer shell of your house?
Luke Cheng
Mr. Goulet,
The number of units that we will produce will depend on the demand that exists in the housing/hotel industry, since we plan to advertise the MWOH towards hoteliers as a novelty "green" option for luxury ocean-side resorts. Other potential customers that we foresee are ocean-bound scientists and the U.S. Department of Defense. If we are successful, we might be able to sell more than a hundred of these units, while also profiting through the sale of technological components of the MWOH, such as its stabilization system and solar desalination still.
Also, I would like to point out that it is pretty unrealistic for anyone to "expect everyone to live in these bobbers out in the ocean or something". That is akin to expecting that everyone will have telekinetic powers by the year 2020. As I have mentioned before, the MWOH will be marketed towards hotel companies.
As for helping our country, I would like to point out that the MWOH would be very useful in scientific expeditions, because of its self-sustainability and stabilization features. But if you think about it, pretty much any project here would "help our country," since it would stimulate the renewable energy market. However, if by "help our country" you mean "significantly improve the quality of life for the majority of the population", then perhaps what you are looking for is some sort of magic wand.
As for waste and water, there is a solar desalination still that converts ocean water into potable water. Waste will have to be transported to land by either the inhabitant of the house, or by a community service.
I hope that I have answered your questions to your satisfaction, although I'm not sure exactly what you were asking when you said "what is up with this bobber house."
Dan Wang
Mr. Parks,
I'm unsure as to what psychological aspects you are referring to. Because of its unique gyroscopic stabilizing system, the MWOH provides inhabitants with stable living conditions so that they can not feel any bobbing. Furthermore, the transparent material that the MWOH is made out of, UV blocking carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), allows inhabitants to connect with and experience nature without directly being exposed to the elements.
I hope that answered your question, but if it did not, please do not hesitate to clarify.
Wayne Robinson
How is your idea going to help the United States become carbon free?
John Goulet
How many of these things are you planning on producing. I dont want to sound mean but do you expect everyone to live in these bobbers out in the ocean or something. Your idea doesnt seem to be that great right now. Yes, it might help a little for the people in it but how is it going to help our country. It is a giant bobber wit only one room. And how do you get rid of the waste and replinish your water. Im sorry but i just want to know what is up with this bobber house.
T. Burgundy
Thanks for answering my question folks!
Nick Parks
Have you considered the psychological aspects of living in a transparent, circular glass house that constantly bobbed?
Dan Wang
Thanks for the question, Mr. Burgundy.
Although they may be hard to see in our pictures, the MWOH does contain two double-layered watertight doors with automatically-sealing air vents to ensure that the living quarters will stay dry.
T. Burgundy
Serious question, folks:
There's no door. How do you get in or out?
Nancy Conrad
WOW. You have really racked up the votes.We are excited to see you in the finals and look forward to your being with us at NASA Ames. Good luck
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TJ ALPHA's Blog
[View All]
3D Model
2009-03-27 20:21:20
Team TJ Alpha is pleased to announce that for the innovation summit, we will have a 3D model of our concept available. This model will be made using a 3D…
[Leave Comment]
Response to Feedback Posted
2009-03-17 17:22:07
The past few weeks have been extremely busy for the members of Team TJ Alpha as we take the SATs, finish school projects, and work on our concept design and…
[Leave Comment]
Updated Team Concept
2009-03-14 19:38:58
Hi everyone. We would first like to thank everyone for their support and helpful feedback about our concept. We apologize for any delays in responding to feedback and promise to…
[Leave Comment]
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