TheBaleenBox

ChloeRemley,ChristopherHom,ChestonBrand,AveryTollefsonandMontDixon

Inourprojectwechosetofocusonfoodproduction,morespecificallyaquaculture.We
specificallyworkedonmarineaquafarming.Asthepopulationgrowsthedemandfor
proteingrowsaswell,thewaytomakeupforthisneedisfishfarming.Oneofthe
problemsinfishfarmingisthattheconcentratedamountoffishproducemorewaste
thantheecosystemcanhandle.Theresultisexcessfishwastesittingatthebottomof
theoceanthatdestroysanyenvironmentthatisthere.Ourproduct,calledtheBaleen
Boxfixesallofthis.Theseboxeswillbeplacedjustbelowthenetswherethefishare
beingheld.Copyingthefunctionofbaleen,thewallsoftheboxwillreplicatethislookas
thewastewillthenfloatintothebottomofthebox.Oncetheboxisfilled,itthencanbe
liftedoutofthewaterusinginflatableballoons.Astheboxisliftedouttheseawaterwill
passthroughthebaleenandpreventingthewastetoflowout.Thiswastewillbe
collectedandusedasfertilizer.Thebaleencartridgescaneasilybecleanedand
reused.


Scopingprocess

Therearemanyvaluablestepsthatgetyourfoodfromthefarmsandontoyour
diningtablescalledthefoodsystem.Ourgroupwascollectivelyinterestedintheinitial
process,FoodProduction.Thisfocusedonthebeginningstepsofthefoodsystemfrom
growingtotransporting.Weallweredrawntothetopicbecauseoffactswediscovered
inthebeginningoftheproject.Forexample,thelargestamountoffoodwastethat
occursinthefoodsysteminthirdworldcountriesisduringthisstep.Yet,aswe
continuedtolookatfoodproductions,ourinterestsshifted.
Whenbeingintroducedtothisprojecttheresearchleadusintothetraditional
farmingprocess,specificallytheimprovementofmonocropping.Thisisamethodwhere
youplantalargeamountofoneplantandastheseasonschange,cyclethrough
specificplants.Wewerealsointroducedtoauniqueinnovationcalledaquaculture,a
supplementtopreventusfromoverfishingandcausingseveralspeciestogoextinct.
Wechoseaquacultureaswesawtheimportanceitplayedinourfishingindustryand
ourfuturediets.Wediscoveredtherewassomuchpossibilityandimportanceforthis
topic.
Theoceancoversabout70%oftheearth,yetweareclosetooverfishing.With
theincreaseinpopulationandchangeindiet,proteinisinhighdemand.Thewayto
makeupforthisincreasewithoutoverfishingisAquaculture.Aquacultureisamethodof
farmingfishintheocean,typicallythemostpopularonestobeeaten,sothatthese
speciesdontgoextinct.Aquacultureisagreatimprovementtofishingboatspatrolling
thewaters.Withthechangingofclimate,itisthemostsuitablewaytogettheprotein
weneed.Aquafarmsarecommonlykeptinharbors,frequentlyaroundAsiaforits
warmerwatertemperatures.Thiscalmer,naturalenvironmentissuitableforavarietyof
fish,shrimpandevensomeseaplantstobecultivated.
Healthycoralreefand
mangrovessystems,forexample,providenaturalbarrierstophysicalimpactssuchas
stormsurges
.ApopularfishbredinthesefarmsisTilapia,commonlyfoundonthe
diningtable.WhenwecontinuedtosearchupthepossibilityofexpandingAquaculture,
wefound
improvingthegeneralresilienceoffisheriesandAquaculturesystemswould
reducetheirvulnerabilitytoclimatechange.Forexample,biodiversityrichfisheriesare
lesssensitivetoclimatechangethanthosethatareoverfishedandhavelittlediversity.
Communitiesthataredependentonfisheriesandaquaculturehavestrongsocial
systemsandalargercollectionsoflivelihoodoptions.
Withsuchbenefitstotheexistenceofaquaculture,wefocusedonthemajor
problemsthatwereaffectingitspotentialfrombeingwidespread.Wefoundtherewere
manydifferentproblemsaffectingAquafarming.Forexample,biofoulingisasignificant
problemthatwasaffectingthenetsandoxygensupplythatwasflowingtothefish.This

wouldaffectthefish'sgrowthandcreatediseasedfish.Biofoulingisorganismsgrowing
offthenetsastheyareleftunderwateranduntouchedformanymonths.Wesoon
startedgeneratingideasforthistopictohoworganismsinnaturedontallowother
organismstolatchontothem.Wequicklybeganlookingathowsharksdontgrowsmall
organismsoffthemduetothetextureoftheirskin.Whatlooklikesmallbumpsare
actuallyverysimilartoroofingtilesthatoverlapandpreventthingsfromlandingontothe
skin.Aswediveddeeperintothetopicwediscoveredtheyalreadyhadananswerto
thisproblem,tousecopperalloy.Copperalloyhasnaturalpropertiesthatrepelthe
attachmentandgrowthofmanythings.Themetalcanalsostayunderthewaterwithout
needingtobereplacedforaverylongtime.Movingpasttheissueswiththenetswe
lookedattheproblemswheretheanswerswherelessobvious.Wesoondiscovered
thatthereweremedicinesandvaccinestheyinjectedintothecagedfishthatharmed
thenativefishaswellastheenvironmentaroundthenets.Thefishkeptinthenets
wereoftenmadevictimstoparasitesanddiseaseastheywouldcollectinthelarge
concentrationofthefish.Makingsurethefishwouldstayhealthyandedible,
vaccinationswereinjectedandgeneticallyengineeredfishreplacedthenaturalfishthey
startedwith.Thediseaseswouldstillcollectintheconfinedenvironmentbutwould
easilyflowoutandinfectthenativebreeds.Anotherlargeproblemwasfishwould
commonlyescapefromthenetsandstartbreedingwiththenativespecies,creating
problemstotheenvironmentandecosystemduetotheunnaturalbreeds.Aswetriedto
investigatethisproblem,theinformationweneededwassimplynotavailableandhadto
moveontoanother.Aswecontinuedtorunintomanydeadendswechoosetoretrace
ourstepstoapastproblemwehadoriginallywrittenoff.Wefoundthatapileofwaste
wouldsettleunderthenets,destroyingtheseafloorsecosystem.Thisproblemwas
muchmoreapproachableandformanypetownersinourgroup,wehadsome
experiencewiththewastethatfishcouldgenerate.
Westruggledwithnarrowingdownwhatfunctionswewerelookingforas
originallywecouldntfocusononeproblem.Welefttheoptionsopenifweweretorun
intoadeadendwithanothertobeabletomoveontoadifferentissue.Weweretrying
tolookatalloftheproblemsandallthefunctionswewouldneed.Thisoverwhelmed
ourgroupandmadeitimpossibletocomeupwithclearfunctionsthatourdesignwould
needtofulfillmimickingnature.Wefinallycametogetherandcrackeddownonour
problem.Wethennarroweddownourfunctiontothefiltrationofthewaste.Itwasvery
importantforthefilteringsystemtoallowwatertoflowthroughsoitwouldntimpedethe
fishlivingintheareafrombreathingsuccessfully.Wecouldntallowthesolutiontothis
problembeanotherproblemthatissimilartobiofouling.Wealsowantedthedesignto
collectthewasteforreuse,bringinginoneofnature'sunifyingpatternsofupcycling.
Thecollectedwastewouldbeturnedintofertilizerasfishwastehasmanynutrientsthat

benefitplants,amethodaquaponicsutilizes.Oncewehaddiscoveredthis,therestof
theideascametogethertocreateourdesign.

NaturesUnifyingPatterns

Innature,thefightforsurvivalistheoverallgoalofallcreatures.Thisgoalof
survivalcostsvaluableenergythateachlivingorganismhasalimitedamountof,so
nothinggoestowaste.Oneorganismswasteordecomposingbodybecomesasource
offoodandmaterialsforotherorganisms.Ourdesignutilizesthisideaofleaving
nothingtowastebyrecyclingthewasteofthefish.Thefunctionsweneededtofulfill
wasfilteringtheorganicwastefromthefishheldintheaquafarmandcapturethewaste
forreuse.Ourdesignfiltersandcapturesthewasteinaneasilyaccessiblecasefrom
whichyoucanremovethewastefromforupcycling.Oncetakenoutofthedesignthe
wastecanbeturnedintofertilizerasfishwastehasmanynutrientsvaluabletoplants,
aidinganotherportionoffoodproduction.Justlikeinnatureonesorganismswaste
becausethefoodforanother,creatingacycle.
Innatureorganismsuseshapeorform,ratherthanaddedmaterialandenergy,
tomeetfunctionalrequirements.Anotherwaytosaythisisthatformfollowsfunction.
Thisallowstheorganismtoaccomplishwhatitneedstodousingaminimumof
resources.Ourdesignutilizedthis,inboththesizeofthebaleenfilterandtheswim
bladderairbagsoneachofthecorners.Thebaleenfilteronlycoverstheareaofthe
undersideofthenetandnothingelsetoconservematerials.Tofulfillthesecond
functionwedesignballoonsmimickingswimbladderstomaketheboxmoreaccessible.
Thishelpseasilybringupthefiltertothesurfaceinsteadofbeingfishedout.Mimicking
theideaofconservingwhatisunneededandapplyonlywhatis,wecopiedthatidea
throughourdesign.
Innature,theprevailingrelationshipsarethosethatarecooperative.Some
commontypesofcooperationaremutualismwherebothpartnersbenefitfromthe
relationshipandcommensalismwhereonepartnerbenefitsandtheotherreceives
neitherbenefitnorharm.Inourdesignwesawaneedforafunctionthatwould
naturallycreateacommensalismrelationship.Thiscommensalismrelationshipsurvived
offthenaturaloccurrenceofthefishthatwaspreviouslydestroyingtheenvironment.
Withtheuseofourdesigninstead,therewouldbeacontinuousresourceforplant
fertilizer.Theplantswouldbebenefitingoffthefish,theenvironmentwouldbeclean,
andthereisnoharmtothefishheldinthepen.

Innature,abalanceiscreatedofftheorganismsinthearea,asetexistencefor
eachlivingthing.Yet,ashumansinviteanonnativespeciestothemixthebalanceis
offsetandmanytimeshasharmfuleffectstotheenvironment.Inthecalmharborvery
suitedforfarmingfish,withlittledamagedonetothenetsordockssetupasthewater
hassmalltideshifts,anywastefloatscalmlytothebottom.Withthislargeunnatural
populationofunmovingfishtheareaunderthenetbecomespollutedwithwaste,
effectivelykillingtheecosystemoftheseafloor.Withthefishesessentialneedfor
oxygenthewatermustbeabletomovethroughthenet,howeverthelargeholesthat
allowthewaterandoxygentoflowthroughthenetletsthewasteflowout.Ourdesign
catchesthebulkofthiswastelettingthewatersenergyguidethewastedownandinto
thefilterlayingunderthenet.Thenaturalbottomfeederswillstillhavethenormal
supplyoffoodfloatingdowntothemwithoutbeingsmothered.

BusinessProposition

Asthehumanpopulationclimbshigherto10billionhumans,thedemandoffood
alsorises.Onehugesourceofproteincomesfromouroceans.Asthedemandoffish
goesup,sowilltheneedforaquaculturetokeepthehealthylevelsofwildfishinthe
oceans.Aquacultureisveryhelpful,butitalsodamagesthesurroundingareasandthe
oceanfloor.
Oursolutiontofilteroutfishwastefromtheoceanfloorwillbenefitthenatural
environmentsurroundingthefish.Excessfishfecesontheoceanfloorwilldestroyand
pollutethesurroundingarea.Itdestroysanyenvironmentthatisbelowthefishnets.
Thatswhytheexcesswasteneedstobetakenout.Andasthedemandofaquaculture
grows,whilethedemandforfishalsorises,therewillbemoreandmorefishfarms,
whichwouldmeanmorewaste.Justasmallamountoffishwastegoingintotheocean
isokbecauseitisnatural,butanexcessamountwillcauseproblems.
Currentlyinmarineaquaculturethereisnothingthatcollectsorgetsridofthefish
wastefromtheoceanfloor,soourproductisalreadyanimprovement.Thatswhyour
productwillbeveryhelpful,itwillcleanuptheoceanfloor,preventingany
environmentalbreakdownthatistheresultofthefishwaste.Ourproductwillcollect
mostofthewaste,filteringouttheexcesswastefromthesaltwatermimickingwhales
baleen.Ourproductisaboxthatwillsitunderneaththenetsofthefish,andcollectthe
waste.Theexcessamountofwastewillnaturallyfloattothebottomintothecontainers.
Whenthecontainersarecollected,therewillbeholesinthesidesandthebottomtolet
outtheseawater,butnotbigenoughforthewastetoescape.
Fishfecescanbeturnedintofertilizerthatcanbeusedonfarms.Fertilizermade
fromfishfecesisorganicandprovidesthesameamountofnutrientsasanyother
manure.Oncewecollectalloftheexcesswaste,wecansellittoprocessingplants
whocanthenturnthefishwasteintousablefertilizer.Thenthefertilizercanbesoldto
differentfarms.Ourproductwillbeusedbydifferentcompaniesthatownfishfarms.It
willalsobenefitthefarmingbusinessbecausetheywillgetfreshfertilizeratarelatively
lowcostfortheircrops.Ourproducthelpstheenvironmentandlocalfarmstogrow

theircrops.Peoplewhoownfishfarmswilllikeourproductbecausetheyaremaking
moneyoffofthefishthattheyarefarmingandfromthefishswaste.

BiologicalInspirationProcess

Ourfunctionwastocollectfishwastemadebyfishfarms,preventingitfrom
settlingontheoceanfloor.Otherwise,thefishwastewouldjustcollectattheocean
floor,formingunnaturallylargepilesthatwoulddamagetheenvironmentaroundit.We
alsoneededtocompletethisusingnaturalenergy.Afterlotsofresearchfornatural
filters,wecameacrosswhalebaleen.Itwastheperfectwaytofilterobjectsina
simpleway,unlikemanyothernaturalfilterfeederswhohadcomplexbodyorgan
systemsthatfiltertheirfood.Wecameupwithmanydifferentideastousethewhale
baleendesigninourproject,andcameupwithasimple,yeteffectivedesign.
TheBaleentoothedwhalewhotargetmicroscopicplanktonforfoodneededto
findawaytoingestallofthesesmallorganismswithoutingestingalargeamountofsalt
waterwiththem.Thebaleenteeththathaveevolvedtoactlikeafiltertoaiditineating.
Theprocessofwhalesfilteringtheirfoodfromseawaterisfascinating,yetsimple.The
whaleopensitsmouth,takinginalargeamountofseawater.Thisseawatercontains
manysmallfish,krill,andsometimesevenasmallbird.Thewhalethenpushesits
tonguetothetopofitsmouth,creatingpressurethatpushesalloftheseawateroutof
itsmouththroughitsbaleen.Astheseawatershootsout,thetinyfishandkrillare
trappedbythewhalesbaleen.Thewhalethenswallowsandconsumesitsfood.
MygroupandIdecidedtobaseourdesignafterthebaleenofwhales.We
specificallychooseittobetheinspirationforafilter.Awhaleusesitinjustthatway,
filteringitsfoodfromseawater.Baleenisabristleytypematerialthatwhalesusesto
capturetheirfoodisusedastheinnerlayerofthebox.Itisarrangedinplatesonthe
upperjaw,itissoclosetogetherandstrongthatitcanfiltereventhesmallestof
particlessimilartohowthewhalecancaptureveenthesmallestofanimals.Forour
basketsthefishwastewillstayinthebasketsasthebaleenpreventsthewastefrom
beingflushedoutwhenpulledoutofthewateranditcansafelyberecycledintofertilizer
afterbeingdumpedoutofthebaskets.
Anotherveryimportantelementofthedesignisthemechanismthatbringsthe
baleenboxup.Weneededawayfortheboxtobesentuptothesurfacesothatthe

fecescouldbecollectedandusedforfertilizer.Lookingathowanimalsmoveor
transportitems,webecamestucktillwefoundauniquestrategythatmanyfishuse,a
fishbladder.Copyingthewayafishmaintainsitspositionwhenitssleepingthrougha
swimbladder,weplacedballoonsoneachcorneroftheboxthatmimicthisfunction.
Whenafishisrestingtheneedtostayinoneplacetoconserveenergy.This
functionisverydifficultinshiftingoceancurrents.Thefishhadtocreateawayto
maintainitspositionwithoutusingitsfins,usinguppreciousenergy.Auniqueoperation
ismadeanactionwiththeswimbladder.Aswimbladderiseitheroneortwogasfilled
sacsfoundinthegutsoffishtokeepthemlevelwithoutwastingexcessenergy.The
swimbladderisanevolutionaryhomologyofthelungs,foundonlyinbonyfish.The
wallsofthesacsarelinedwithguaninecrystalstomakethemimpenetrabletoanyother
gasesbesidesoxygenandcarbondioxide.Gascanbeaddedtothesacsbytakingin
thingssuchasoxygenfromthewateranddoingtheoppositetoletoutgas.

Ourdesignitselfisaboxwithinaboxwithswimbladderlikestructuresattachedtoit.
Theballoonsthatreplicatethatofaswimbladder,allowingoxygentobefilteredinso
thattheboxmaystayafloatinasingulararea.Theboxfloatsbeneaththenetsof
captivefishthatproduceexcesswasteandpollutetheocean.Whenitistimeforthe
designtobebroughtuptheballoonswillbringthebaleenboxtothesurface,mimicking
howthefishcancontroltheitsposition.Withalltheallofthesedesignsworking
togetherastheywouldaloneinnatureourdesignwillbeaninnovationthatwillaidthe
aquafarmingprocess.

Currentlimitations

Duetotheinabilitytorunanytestsorinformationonhowfiberglassactswhen
itsunderwaterforlongperiodsoftime,wedontclearlyknowifthisisthebestoptionas
amaterial.Manyproblemsthattheoldnetshadmadeofsimplenylonwasthat
organismswouldlatchonandstarttogrowoffit,becomingverydangerousforthefish.
Wedontknowifwewillrunintothisproblemwiththematerial.Thereisalsotheissue
aboutifthematerialcouldbehazardoustothefishandsimplybearisktotheirhealth.
Wewerealsohinderedbythefactthatwewerentavailabletotheexact
dimensionsofanaquafarm.Thisaffectsmanyelementsofourdesignespeciallythe
sizeandweight.Thesizeoftheboxisverydependentontheareaitneedstocover.Do
toitsexistanceofbeingafilterthatisdependentonthecalmcurrentallowingthewaste
toflowintothebox,theareaitcoversmustencapturethebottomofthenet.Thissizeis
completelybasedontheareathatthefishexistin.
Anotherlargeelementthatisheavilyrelatedtothesizeistheweightofthebox.
Theinflatablebagsoneachofthecornersacttolifttheboxtothesurface.Tobeableto
liftthebox,wewouldneedtoknowtheexactweighttoaccuratelyapplythenecessary
inflationtothebags.Withouttestsforthisaswellasthesizeofthebox,findingoutthe
answertothiswouldbeimpossible.Thisisonceagainlinkedtohowthematerialsreact
tobeingsubmergedforlongamountsoftime.Iffiberglassdoesalloworganismstogrow
offitorifitdeterioratesovertimethenthiswillaffecttheweightandairneededtoraise
thebox.
Theunpredictabilityoftheseaisanotherproblemwedonthaveafirmgraspon.
Asaquafarmsareoftenkeptincalmerwatersinwarmclimates,thewateroftenfloatsto
thebottom.Duetothistheplacementoftheboxisallitneedstocollectthewaste,not
havingtouseauniquesystemtomoveitin.Yet,iftherewouldbeanychangetothisor
anincreaseincurrentpushingthewasteoutbutmovedslightlyover,damagingthat
partoftheseafloorecosystem,thebaleenboxwouldn'tbeabletodoanything.The

calmenvironmentiswhatitwasmadefor,anylargeincreasewouldgreatlylowerits
collectionlevelandoneofitsfunctions.
Connectingtothisbutmoreonthebusinessside,thiswouldaffectthepeople
andareaswhocouldthriveoffthisdesign.Iftheydidhaverougherwatersthatthefish
weresuitedforthenthebaleenboxwouldntbeforthem.Wecouldn'tknowexactlythe
levelofcurrentthebaleenboxcouldaffectitsfunctions.Thiswouldbeanothertestthat
thedesignwouldneedtogothroughtobeatrueimprovementfromlettingthewaste
collectonthebottom.Thepointofthedesignistoimprovetheproductivityofthe
Aquafarmsandreducetheriskonourenvironment,allofthesetestwouldneedto
happenforthistotrulybeachieved.Ifthedesignishurtingtheenvironmentandthe
productivityofAquaculturethenanewonewouldneedtobeutilized.

TeamDynamics

Ourteamworkedreallywelltogether.Everyonecontributedtoideastotheproject.At
firstwehadtroubledecidingonwhattoevenwriteabout.Duringthescopingprocess
wealldidourownindividualresearch,thenattheendofthedaywesharedoutwhat
wefound.Comingupwiththeideaofaquacultureandfishfarmingwasagroupeffort.It
wasntuntilthelastweekthatwecametogethertoformourdesign.Agoodwaythatwe
gotallofourideasdownwasbyusinganexpomarkerandwritingdownourideason
thetable.Thatwaywecouldseewhateveryonewasthinkingandwecouldtake
picturesofthisprocess.Wealldidthesameamountofresearchanddesigningto
comeupwithourproduct.Thenwhenitcametimetowritetheprojectdocumentwe
splitupthework.Chriscompletedtheabstractandbusinessproposition.Monetdidpart
oftheBiologicalinspirationanddrewalloftheillustrations,helpingusallvisualizethe
design.Chestonwrotethebiologicalinspirationandtheresources,evenwhenhewas
outforalongtimecommunicationstilloccured.Averyalsoworkedonthescoping
projectsandthebioinspiration,helpinguscomeupwiththeideaofusingbaleenforour
filterdesign.ChloedidthescopingprocessandtheNatureUnifyingpart,standinginas
aleaderwhenweneededone.Butintheendweallsplituptheworkandhelpedeach
other.

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