Open Ocean Systems

InnovaSea is committed to developing the next wave of open-ocean products and services to support the growing aquaculture industry. Aquapod is a unique containment system for marine aquaculture, suited for open ocean conditions and a diversity of species. The Aquapod is constructed of individual triangle net panels fastened together in a spheroid shape. SeaStation fish pens help farm operators reduce the total cost of grow-out on medium-to-high energy aquaculture sites. SeaStation's security and long service life allow capital costs to be spread across many years and harvests.

Effortless Aquaponics LLC is a business entity created to manufacture and distribute unique natural filter systems that use common plants such as basil, lettuce, or flowers to clean the water in home or office aquariums. A line of innovative planters, accessories, and residual products will be available to customers initially in U.S. markets and then available worldwide. The first product to release is called GroPonix which will be sold in a kit form with everything needed for the average person to set up, run and maintain an aquaponic aquarium system right out of the box. Currently there is no product occupying this market niche of attractively designed natural aquarium filters. Startup costs of $200k will allow the GroPonix system to take in an average of 71% profit margin before operating expenses in a $3.8 billion aquarium pet product market.

Kona Blue Water Farms -- the first sustainable, integrated marine fish hatchery and open ocean mariculture operation in the United States "breeds Kona Kampachi, a premium, versatile Hawaiian yellowtail endorsed by top chefs nationwide. Based in Kona, Hawaii, Kona Blue raises the fish in an on-shore hatchery, transferring fingerlings to submersible, offshore net-pens deep in the Pacific Ocean to grow to harvest size of more than four pounds. The sashimi-grade fish have no detectable amounts of mercury and are grown with no additives, genetic engineering or hormones.

Algae AquaCulture Technology (AACT) is a clean energy company developing integrated bioprocessors to consume waste heat and carbon dioxide to produce renewable energy and organic soil amendments. AACT systems are ideally suited for the production of methane, hydrogen and bio-oils that can be used as fuel for farm and industrial equipment or to generate electrical power. As the system produces no waste, its byproducts are valuable high grade organic fertilizer and soil amendments.

Subchem Systems is a company that received a Department of Defense SBIR/STTR grant for a project entitled: Compact, Lightweight Chemical Sensor for Underwater Explosive Ordnance (EOD) Application. The abstract given for this project is as follows: SubChem Systems Inc. has been involved in the further development, deployment and commercialization of autonomous in-situ chemical analyzers and custom engineered payloads since 1996. SubChem Analyzers have been deployed on commercial AUVs, coastal gliders, autonomous moored vertical profilers, fixed moored structures and other ocean observation platforms. The overall objective of this funding will be to provide a conceptual design of a Diver held chemical sensor capable of sensing chemical/explosive signatures focusing on nitro-based explosives. The requirements needed of the sensor for integration to the DHINS, HULS and BULS systems will also be documented. SubChem Systems maintains the expertise to provide an assessment of several chemical sensing techniques which may be applicable to the sensing of explosives underwater to be applied to the conceptual design. SubChem is currently developing a Miniature Chemical Sensor, ChemFIN, for the detection of trace levels of explosives and other target chemicals. This sensor couples a unique micro-fluidic technology providing a low cost, low power, and platform independent architecture. Funding from this Phase 1 effort will produce a conceptual adaptation to a Diver Held ChemFIN. This variant will incorporate an applicable sensing technology for localization and classification of nitrate-based (TNT,DNT) and potentially peroxide-based (TATP,HMTD) chemical/explosive mixtures.

Agrihouse is a company that received a STTR Phase I grant for a project entitled: Precision Plant Irrigation Control Utilizing Leaf Thickness Sensor Technology. Their research project will develop an innovative method that enables reliable feedback for plant irrigation control by direct detection of impending water deficit stress (WDS) in plants. This technology indicates water deficit stress of living plants by measuring the thickness of leaves, which decreases dramatically at the onset of leaf dehydration. The proposed method overcomes the obstacle of traditional methods for determining the thickness of living plant leaves, measuring leaf thickness non-destructively, gently, reliably, conveniently, with high resolution, and in real-time. This novel real-time leaf sensor technology is non-destructive to the plants and can be used on a wide number of species. The proposed leaf sensor can easily be miniaturized and automated without hindering plant cycles. It combines concepts of engineering and plant physiology while employing recent technological advances in electronics and information technologies. Early detection of impending water deficit stress in plants may be used as an input parameter for precision irrigation control, a strategy which has the potential to preserve enormous amounts of precious freshwater while ensuring successful plant cultivation and crop yield optimization. Such a device may find commercial applications in agricultural sectors or the greenhouse industry. The research would develop this novel method into a sensor that is applicable reliably, conveniently, and permanently under field conditions. This research implements this novel real-time leaf sensor-technology into an automated irrigation system as a proof-of-concept demonstration, and evaluates its performance in terms of reliable plant cultivation and its potential for water conservation under realistic farming conditions.