Protei - Open_Sailing

Protei is a fleet of sailing drones, developed primarily to collect oil spills. DEAF presents Protei_006, the first working prototype developed in 2011 in Rotterdam, in collaboration with V2_Lab.

Protei is an open-source technology in development that will make oil spill cleanup more efficient and safe in the future. Only three percent of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill could be collected with current skimming technology, partly because cleaning boats were unable to operate at night or in heavy weather. Furthermore, use of the boats was expensive, and sailors were exposed to carcinogenic toxins. In contrast to conventional oil cleaning vessels, Protei is unmanned (so no humans are exposed to toxins), green (using wind energy to sail upwind, capturing oil spreading downwind), self-righting (so it can operate in bad weather), and semi-autonomous (so it can operate continuously and far from shore). Central to Protei’s design philosophy is the idea that when environmental problems are man-made, it is a mistake to think humans must be central to the solution. A better appreciation of the powers present in nature can lead to more sustainable solutions.