Navigating through heavy sea traffic at ports just got easier with
designers, Tae Hoon Lee and Sung Yong Kim having introduced the Hybrid
Energy Buoy. Emergence of rising maritime trade demands support from
reliable means of navigation. Though this lead to the existence of the
the lighthouses, beacons, buoys and such other guides, which aids the
navigator to a safe anchorage, a need for something better has always
been felt.
Benefits of the Hybrid Buoys
Promising to benefit the navigators in more than one way, the Hybrid
Energy Buoy runs with the backup of avant-garde technology. Maintaining
it at sea is not going to be any difficult, since it is self sufficient,
unlike the buoys of earlier times which were by and large hollow barrel
like structures, made out of wood. The earlier buoys were fastened with
bands of iron and anchored with a huge boulder and a chain. But these
buoys might change the whole conventional outlook towards buoys.
The Hybrid Energy Buoy is self sufficient, and hence, the port
authorities or crew do not need to worry about reinstating batteries and
other miscellaneous errands. Electricity is directly generated on the
face of the objects, when light confronts the top portion of the buoy.
This allows solar cell energy to be produced and then utilized. The
buoy also employs energy created from the movements of the ocean water,
the technology that has been referred to as the EPAM (Electoactive
polymer artificial muscle), which inducts about 5w of electricity each
second.
Working
The sun light would reflect on the bright orange outer surface of the
buoy and the dark skies of the night would be lit up by the LED lights
with high intensity. This would avoid collision of ships and will act as
a dependable guide to the sea-farers. A GPS system is installed into
the buoy and the contraption will move self-directed, in case of
difficulties like red tide etc, with the help of automatic steering
equipment and rudder.
The Hybrid Buoy device can also be radio controlled which only adds
up to the convenience. RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) technology
is used to trace the location of the buoy and control it.
Thus the hybrid buoy concept is a total eco-friendly buoy with some
great features such as solar energy generation, automatic steering
equipment, EPAM device utilizing the wave motion, and an integrated
anchor.
http://yankodesign.com
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