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Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Non-Profit Musings



Sata collection in places where no data collection exists, for instance designing AUVs to "Glide" on predefined courses through the ocean or ride ocean currents and collect data over the long term, maybe even video and audio recordings that could later be collected and the raw and processed data released to the public which universities and other interested parties could use for their own projects. (Listening for whales and whale song comes to mind) Data collection in the form of Micro AUVs that could be released in a fresh water spring by a cave diver that could then flow with the current and perhaps surface at some other point to help map underground aquifers a bit more safely, because it wouldn't have to worry about silt outs or OOA or whatever. It'd have to be small and it's power consumption would have to be very little, but it could either function as a beacon (Ultra Low Frequency to penetrate the overhead) that could be tracked by a ground station or it could collect visual/sonar data that could later be interpreted by a technician. (when I say sonar it would be limited sonar because of power rates, but it could be done)
 
The key idea of organizing though would be so
All the tech that would be developed by the org would be patented by the org and then open licensed to anyone that wants to use it free of charge (and that would be in the charter that no patent could be closed or sold to a for profit agency) thus disallowing patent portfolio firms that make their money off of litigation from aquiring patents on whatever tech is developed and basicly legally blackmailing people that make something similiar. It would also open up all the designs for the public so they could improve on and make better marine tech. Something like the open source software movement but without the stipulation that if you use an open patent design you have to open patent yours... so companies wouldn't feel threatened by using the research would invalidate their proprietary R&D.
 
Am I making sense?
 
George Slaterpryce
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 8:31 AM
Subject: RE: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Non-Profit Musings

NOAA provides free weather information from numerous buoys located around the US.  You do have to run through some "link hoops" to get there, but once you do it's pretty easy to navigate.  I don't recall if they have current information, but they do have atmospheric info, wave height, and water temp that is captured every hour.  I watch them when hurricanes pass through various areas.   Sounds like you might be looking to provide more detail than NOAA, but I'm not sure.  Can you expand on your idea?
 
Jon
 
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org [mailto:owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org]On Behalf Of George Slaterpryce
Sent: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 8:22 AM
To: PSUBS Mailing List
Subject: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Non-Profit Musings

 The more I think about it, the more I'm starting to like the idea of switching captovis (my business) over to a non-profit organization for underwater research. With the task of advancing marine technology and building a data warehouse of information... As well as "semi open patent" for my robotics. I.E. Patents would belong to the org while being open licensed to anyone that wants to use them. Why would tech be patented then? To prevent "Trolls" or companies that patent and hold patent portfolios from getting their hands on the technology for litigation for profit purposes. It would allow anyone and everyone to use the technology and (I hope) further advance marine tech. I'd also like to put out "data stations" or fixed nodes throughout various areas that collected data such as current speed and direction, water temp etc. and make that data open to everyone.

I'm wondering if something like this would be something people would volunteer their time for or would be interested in the end product, I'm thinking that I would have to have a minimum infrastructure of full/part time people/ contractors to fill in specialty positions (Lawyers, Maybe a divemaster/director of divers, an admin) I don't think anyone of the paid people would get very rich doing it either... well, maybe the lawyers, I've never met a "cheap" lawyer.
 
P.S. pictures from "BugEye" can be found at http://www.captovis.om/users/harold3/pictures/bugeye-test1 for anyone that's interested