主要研究 今天

Data collection buoys are essential for gathering information about the ocean and climate, but these devices can also be unreliable when their batteries die and turn into ocean debris.   

主要研究工程学院的学生 & 物理科学(CEPS)和彼得T. 保罗经济与商业学院 are collaborating to tackle this problem with Drift-RMT, a renewable ocean data collection device that uses wave motion for self-sustaining power.   

Drift-RMT团队是争夺15美元奖金的六个团队之一,在今年的比赛中，他们将获得1000美元的奖金，并有机会推广自己的商业理念 保罗J. 霍洛威奖竞赛. For the Drift-RMT team, the Holloway Competition is the first part of a busy May ending at the 海洋能源大学竞赛(MECC) 在俄勒冈州波特兰.   

The effort began as a senior capstone project for a group of engineering students across three majors in Kara Wittmann, 莱利·德马莱和威廉·摩尔, 谁想要创造一个能在MECC上竞争的产品. Paul College student Cameron Vose joined the team at the end of the fall semester to assist with creating Drift-RMT's business plan. 不久之后，这支队伍决定也参加霍洛威竞赛.   

 “当我加入这个团队的时候, 这个产品的设计是我们团队集体脑力的结晶,沃斯说。, 创业研究专业大四学生. “Adding Holloway and its imminent deadlines made us think about the feasibility of our project and putting it out into the world.”   

海洋表面漂流者为气候模型收集数据, 恶劣天气预报和航海. 大多数海洋数据收集设备使用30- 50d的碱性电池. 当电池耗尽时, 浮标关闭，无法追踪, 这意味着那些没有被回收的就变成了海洋碎片, 解释了摩尔.   

在封闭的空间里，D电池本来就在那里, Drift-RMT浮标有一个可以旋转和发电的机械臂.  

“我们的目标是只用两块锂离子电池, 我们可以装药，给船上所有必要的仪器供电, 但我们的可再生方面是，当设备摇摆时, 当波浪晃动它的时候, it will just continue to live on and still be able to be located and replaced if needed,摩尔说.   

According to Moore, traditional drifters last about 18 months, but many die sooner. Drift-RMT漂流船预计使用4-6年.   

The National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration’s (NOAA) global drifter program uses around 1,200年的漂流者. 而Drift-RMT漂流船的建造成本预计会更高, the team believes their device would save NOAA and other organizations significant money in replacement costs, 提供更准确的数据，减少海洋垃圾.   

而维, Desmarais, 摩尔和沃斯负责霍洛威的调查工作, 整个漂流- rmt团队包括12名学生, 每个人都有独特的背景来实现这个想法.   

“我们想以一种新的、有影响力的方式做出贡献，”惠特曼说. “有很多海洋能源项目, 你看到人们带着这些膨胀的东西进入市场, 技术要求高的想法. So, finding a robust design we could work on and get behind as a team was challenging and rewarding."  

Based on the feedback they received from judges during the Bud Albin Challenge, 霍洛威大赛的半决赛, the team is making some final adjustments to their business plan to be more intentional about the markets they want to target with the product and what data they should incorporate into their final presentations.  

“Competing in Holloway has been a good opportunity for us to vet and validate our product while giving us more practice on pitching our idea,沃斯说.  

While the results and feedback from the Holloway finals and MECC will play a role in Drift-RMT's future, the team is proud of what it has built and what its members have learned from each other, 准备比赛和制定商业计划.   

“I think the beauty of our team is that we do have so many interdisciplinary backgrounds. 有工程师, 但是在工程师内部, you have ocean engineers that can provide different input than the environmental engineers working on the sustainability aspect,德马莱说. “You have the mechanical engineers working on the product's design to build and test. 我们都有不同的工程背景, 然后是小卡, 谁带来了商业视角.”   

Vose says the interdisciplinary collaboration has made his Holloway experience extra rewarding.   

“我学到了很多工程方面的知识, and it’s been great to get outside of my business comfort zone and work on such a collaborative project,沃斯说. “Since we've come together for the competition, we've had to put on a lot of different hats. I've learned a lot about design and how the product works and I can articulate how it generates energy. 两个月前我是做不到的. 威尔是个工程师，但他帮我做了商业计划."  

 摩尔说，从这项努力中吸取的教训将在毕业后继续下去.  

“我认为我未来的职业将工程和商业结合起来. 我总是发现自己倾向于项目工程, and this competition has sent me further down that path and helped me realize that I want to have that marriage of disciplines in my career, 我认为这是一件很有价值的事情, 尤其是在我大学的最后一年.”