Dossier

Cesar HARADA - TEDxSeeds 2011

The speaker details the development of the "Protée" autonomous cleanup robot, initially motivated by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, arguing that technological innovation must pivot from serving human profit to directly addressing environmental needs like pollution cleanup and radiation monitoring. He illustrates this by contrasting his initial, proprietary approach with the subsequent shift to open-source hardware principles, enabling scalable, collaborative, and environmentally focused development. The speaker concludes by emphasizing that developing technology solely for human profit is unsustainable, and humanity must prioritize safeguarding natural resources.

## Speakers & Context
- Speaker: Unnamed speaker; employed as a Development Manager in a technology incubator in Kenya.
- Context: Initial catalyst for work was the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Initial emotional state: Felt a sense of powerlessness regarding the spill.
- Shift in perspective: Felt compelled to take a "larger context" view after witnessing the struggle of an oil cleanup worker who had lost limbs.
- Current setting/Activity: Presenting on the development of the cleanup technology in Japan, involving a cycling trip from Tokyo to Sendai to locate deployment sites for radioactivity measurement.

## Theses & Positions
- The primary purpose of technology development must shift from benefiting human profit to serving natural environments.
- Technology developed for environmental benefit must be cheap, immediately actionable, and universally accessible.
- The initial proprietary approach to oil cleanup was flawed because it threatened the livelihood of local workers, signaling a need for a more collaborative model.
- Open-source hardware development allows for much faster, large-scale development by enabling parallel work across art, science, technology, design, and manufacturing.

## Concepts & Definitions
- **Protée:** A robot designed for oil spill cleanup that utilizes natural forces (like wind) to collect spilled oil.
- **Open Source Hardware:** Technology development where anyone can freely use, modify, and distribute the technology.
- **Hydrodynamics Principle (for cleanup):** The initial problem with traditional methods was losing both "pulling power" and "direction" when towing long, heavy objects against the force of the sea.

## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Early Data Collection:** Used standard digital cameras placed in soda bottles, attached to large helium balloons, to take thousands of high-resolution photos of the oil slick, achieving resolution thousands of times greater than satellite images.
- **Oil Movement Analysis:** Observation showed oil flows not as large masses, but as long streaks affected by wind, surface currents, and waves.
- **Initial Cleanup Failure:** Sending small boats to clean broad oil areas is difficult; trapping oil requires using material the same length as the oil slick.
- **Floating Cleanup Principle:** Protée uses natural energy by sailing *upwind* to collect oil moving downwind.
- **Control Improvement (Step 1):** Moving the rudder (rudder/steering mechanism) to the front of the boat significantly improved control over towing long, heavy objects.
- **Control Improvement (Step 2):** Adding multiple control points (articulators/joints) to the rudder allowed for the creation of an "articulated robot" with impressive responsiveness, akin to surfing or cycling.
- **Protée 3:** A scaled-up, larger version of the robot utilizing a main and secondary sail to capture wind from different directions, ensuring constant propulsion and directional control.
- **Protée 6:** An advanced iteration shaped like a wave, featuring joints in both horizontal and vertical planes, allowing movement along the wave's curve.
- **Structural Analogy:** The movement mimics aircraft wings; if the plane body rises, tilting it sideways allows movement across the horizontal plane.
- **Application Diversity:** The same principles apply to collecting floating plastic debris in the Pacific and measuring radioactive fallout in the ocean.

## Timeline & Sequence
- **By April 2010:** Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
- **During the spill:** Speaker utilized software developed during the cleanup response, receiving near real-time SMS/email reports from local residents.
- **Days later:** Received a call from MIT, joining research on cleanup technology development.
- **Post-MIT work:** Felt disconnected from the reality of the Gulf of Mexico, leading the speaker to travel to New Orleans to check the scene.
- **Post-observation:** Realized the initial technology presentation to the fisherman was fundamentally wrong; needed a more systemic solution.
- **After resigning:** Unable to approach the spill site initially, joined the **Louisiana Bucket Brigade** NGO.
- **Later Action:** Used simple tools (digital camera, soda bottle, balloon) to create low-cost aerial mapping tools.
- **Project Commercialization/Open-sourcing:** After further research, the speaker made the project open-source after securing funding from over 300 people (over $30,000) in 6 weeks.

## Named Entities
- **Deepwater Horizon:** Source of the 2010 oil spill.
- **MIT:** Institution that engaged the speaker in cleanup research.
- **Louisiana Bucket Brigade:** NGO joined by the speaker to conceive of alternative solutions.
- **New Orleans:** Location where the speaker visited the spill site.
- **Mexico Bay:** Geographic area of the spill.
- **Tokyo / Sendai:** Locations in Japan used as part of the current monitoring trip.

## Numbers & Data
- Oil spill date: **April 2010**.
- Funding goals met: **Over $30,000**.
- Number of initial donors: **Over 300**.
- Comparison of sensor resolution: **Thousands of times higher** than satellite photography.
- Cost of initial mapping setup: **Under $200**.
- Scale of debris problem: Oil affects debris spread to **over 80%** of fish populations.

## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Oil Cleanup Robot (Protée):** The core technology; must be autonomous, cheap, easily deployed, and scalable.
- **High-Resolution Camera Setup:** Digital camera placed in a soda bottle, attached to a large helium balloon.
- **Protée:** The original name/concept for the autonomous cleanup vessel.
- **Protée 3:** A scaled-up, more robust version of the robot.
- **Protée 6:** The most advanced model, shaped like a wave with multi-directional joints.
- **Radioactivity Measurement Equipment:** The speaker is currently searching for this specific piece of equipment.
- **Articulated Joint Robot:** The principle applied by moving the rudder to the front and adding multiple control points.

## References Cited
- None.

## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Proprietary Development vs. Open Source:** Trade-off of short-term profit potential vs. long-term, massive community development speed and breadth.
- **Direct Intervention vs. Observation:** Early focus on building complex tech vs. pivot to low-cost, observational methods (balloon photography).
- **Goal Focus:** Shifting focus from solely mechanical/energy cleanup (towing force, direction) to exploiting natural energy sources (wind power).

## Methodology
- **Initial Data Gathering:** Used balloon-mounted, camera-in-bottle setup to map oil slicks via ultra-high-resolution photography, surpassing satellite mapping capability.
- **Cleanup Modeling:** Theoretical analysis concluded that collecting oil efficiently requires using natural forces (like wind) and mastering hydrodynamics (focusing on directional control via articulation).
- **Design Iteration:** Iterative hardware development, progressing from simple boat modifications (front rudder) to complex articulated robots (Protée 6).
- **Implementation Philosophy:** Open-sourcing the design mandates collaboration across disciplines (Art, Science, Tech, Design) simultaneously.

## Conclusions & Recommendations
- Future technology development must be directed solely toward serving environmental needs rather than human profit motives.
- Must build the courage to make the decision to pursue environmental benefit over economic gain.
- The ultimate goal is to create a fleet of different specialized robots, making rapid advances in maritime technology.

## Implications & Consequences
- The cleanup technology developed is transferable to diverse environmental challenges, including retrieving plastic debris from the Pacific Ocean and measuring dispersed radioactive materials in the ocean.
- The adoption of open-source hardware models fundamentally changes the speed and scope of scientific and engineering development.

## Verbatim Moments
- *"これからの話は、ケニアで始まりました。" (What I am about to talk about began in Kenya.)*
- *"「石油が海岸に流れ込んでいます！」、というようにほぼリアルタイムで。" (Like, 'Oil is washing ashore!' in near real-time.)*
- *"彼は、両足を失っていたのです。" (He had lost both his legs.)*
- *"「こんにちは、セザールと言います。」「MITからきました。」「私はこの非常に高価なテクノロジーを開発しました。」「5年から10年以内に利用可能になります。特許も取る予定です」と。" (This was the dialogue the speaker used to describe his high-cost tech, which was perceived as taking away the fisherman's job.)*
- *"漁師という仕事は、人間にとって最も危険な仕事です。石油清掃員の平均寿命は、そんな危険な漁師の寿命よりも短い。" (Fishing is the most dangerous job for humans. The average lifespan of an oil cleanup worker is shorter than that of a dangerous fisherman.)*
- *"費用は200ドル未満。これはまさに、安価で、すぐに組み立てられ、オープンソースというよい例です。" (The cost was under $200. This is a perfect example of being inexpensive, quickly assembled, and open-source.)*
- *"長くて重いものを引くと二つのものが失われます。一つは引っ張る力、二つ目は方向です。" (When you pull something long and heavy, you lose two things: the pulling force and the direction.)*
- *"制御する場所を増やすのです。これが１つめの制御点です。" (The idea is to increase the control points. This is the first control point.)*
- *"オープン・ハードウェアとはどんなものでしょう？それは、誰でも自由に使用、変更、配信ができる技術開発です。" (What is open hardware? It is technological development that anyone can freely use, modify, and distribute.)*
- *"私たちはさらに大きく、変わった特徴を持った「プロテイ６」を開発しました。" (We developed 'Protée 6', which is even larger and has changing characteristics.)*
- *"それ以上、人間やお金のためだけに技術を開発することはできません。自然環境に役立つ技術開発しか道はありません。" (We cannot develop technology just for human beings or money anymore. There is no path but technology development that benefits the natural environment.)*