InitiativeSeaweed growth
38.2 kg/day
Four operating modes, one platform architecture. Same hull, same air propulsion, same 500 kg capacity — different payload and formation depending on the mission.
Seaweed and riverweed are among the fastest-growing biomass on the planet — alongside algae and water hyacinth, both of which multiply aggressively in freshwater and are usually treated as a nuisance to clear rather than a resource to harvest. We plan to farm all four with autonomous boats — harvesting on an optimized growth cycle, growing the biomass needed for biofuel directly on water, and freeing the land it would otherwise take.
The easiest capability to deploy — and one of the most consequential. Introduce sensors and collect on-site data to ground-truth every satellite estimate and empirical model we currently rely on. Autonomous on-site sensing of water bodies is instrumental not just in recuperating marine life, but in monitoring sewage influence, microplastics, and the real effects of global warming — with hard, empirical, on-site data.
One Droplet glides with 500 kg. Attach a net between two or three, and the fleet becomes a moving trash boom that fishes waste out of the water at scale — repositionable to wherever debris actually accumulates, unlike fixed infrastructure. Air propulsion means no submerged prop to foul on weeds, plastic film, or the very waste being collected, and the formation can hold station against current or run upstream to redeploy.
Glide capacity per drone — so a 3-unit formation can carry over a tonne of recovered waste per run.
Two drones hold a V-sweep and let the current push debris into the net; a third can manage the bag and ferry full loads to shore while the flanks keep sweeping.
Scout units map where waste actually accumulates; collector formations redeploy there — no budget wasted sweeping clean water.
Not every shipment needs a ship. A single pallet moved by a solar-electric drone boat replaces a truck on a congested road — or a diesel vessel running mostly empty. Water routes in cities like Toronto run 30–40% shorter than their road equivalents: no congestion, no signals, no idle time.
PROPOSED ROUTES — PORT LANDS → HUMBER BAY · HARBOURFRONT → TORONTO ISLANDS · ~4 TRIPS/DAY · ~1,200 TRIPS/YEAR
Harmful algal bloom early warning. Illegal dumping detection. Aquaculture site selection. Research data-as-a-service. Same platform, new payloads.