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      Cesar Harada on March 17

      Dear Phil and Chuck, I'm really sorry for the very long wait. We're in the process of moving the Headquarters of Protei from London UK to the USA currently and we'll be fully set in the USA hopefuly in the late spring. Sending reward will be much easier from that point. We're also in the process of forming as a non-profit and we'll use that status to send you the reward but have not obtained yet our status. Again, I apologise for delay.

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      Chuck Pell on February 16

      I signed up for a hoodie, too ($150). - Chuck Pell
      Go check out my TEDMED Talk at
      http://www.tedmed.com/videos-info…

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      Phil Pham on February 3

      Any updates on when we'll receive the Pledge awards? I signed up for the hoodie at $150.

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      Cesar Harada on September 7, 2011

      That's very nice! Wool! Ha! One more material to test !
      Thanks for link!

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      Wouter de Valk on September 7, 2011

      Great to see all your hard work come to this wonderful result. Congratulations! Reading the Economist this weekend I saw an article regarding oil soaking capabilities of wool: http://ht.ly/6npqs Is this useful?

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      Cesar Harada on April 12, 2011

      @Nadine : Sure thing ! We'll post updates here on the kickstater, on the Protei website and on facebook Open_Sailing group :)
      @Annie : Merci !

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      Nadine Freischlad on April 12, 2011

      Amazing! Congratulations!! :) Good luck on all your next steps. Keep us up to date!

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      Harada Annie on April 11, 2011

      la planète est pour tous, les dégâts aussi. Alors mettons du côté de ceux qui ont la force et le courage de faire pour le bien de tous et respectant la nature et en ne la mettant pas en danger. Altruisme et humilité en respectant la fragilité de la nature et des vivants !! Merci César et tous ceux qui sont animés par la Vie la Vraie. Next step V2 and so on ... We are always here for all of you. Love Annie Harada

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      Cesar Harada on April 11, 2011

      @Robert : Thanks so much to help us put the word out !!
      @Andrew : Yes, both big and small medias are good, many "likes" on facebook help a lot that's true! thank you so much guys for your help! 24 hours to go GO GO GO !!!

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      Andrew Pisher on April 10, 2011

      Oh and contact local news stations to tell them about the Protei project.

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      Andrew Pisher on April 10, 2011

      The best way to spread the word is through social media. Twitter, Facebook, youtube and all the smaller ones.

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      Robert Douglass on April 10, 2011

      This video explains a lot more about the project: http://www.fastcompany.com/1745760/cleaning-up-oil-with-a-swarm-of-autonomous-sailboats
      If you're thinking about backing Protei, make sure to watch!

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      Robert Douglass on April 9, 2011

      Yay! Slashdot published the story! Let's hope this BRILLIANT project gets some extra funding!

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      Robert Douglass on April 9, 2011

      Ok here's what you can do. I've submitted the story to Slashdot. http://slashdot.org/submission/1524516/An-autonomous-sailing-robot-to-clean-up-oil-spills

      If you have an account, log in, and click "Is This a Worthy Story?"

      If you don't have an account, get one.

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      Robert Douglass on April 9, 2011

      I can't believe this isn't getting more press. This is a project that thousands of people would be willing to support. What can people do to spread the word???

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      Ben Jervey on April 9, 2011

      Congratulations to all! So excited to see the prototype--and the first round of hard data!

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      Cesar Harada on April 9, 2011

      @Shabnam : THANKS A LOT SHABNAM! We got each other's back! Thanks so much !!!
      @Jean-Noel : WE did it !!! THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!!
      @Walter : Thanks a lot, yes, this is just the beginning of the adventure !!!

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      Shabnam on April 9, 2011

      Fantastic!
      You guys made! Great work and we'll keeping on back you!

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      Jean-noël Lafargue on April 8, 2011

      You did it ! Congratulations.

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      walter mason on April 8, 2011

      congratulations! i'm really glad you guys have made your goal. you have an amazing invention, and it deserves getting built. all the best.

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      Cesar Harada on April 8, 2011

      @Edward : Thanks ! We need help, we are so close!
      @Rob : Thanks, yes we are !! And we're all on the same boat HAHA!
      @jrgd : I'm over-excited too, this is really nerve-breaking, so close !!!! Let's do it !!!!

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      Edward Clark on April 7, 2011

      I'll try another, more courteous, approach to recruitment of new donors. I'll also try to get some of my friends to chip in. That's because I think your project is outstandingly intelligent & could be of enormous ecological & health value at very low costs affordable to virtually any nation, state or city needing to clean up oil spills swiftly & cost-effectively.

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      Rob Rogers on April 7, 2011

      This looks amazing- and you're so close!

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      jrgd on April 7, 2011

      Cesar i'm amazed and diving into your marvels! Thanks for all that: i'm overexcited!

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      Cesar Harada on March 31, 2011

      @Jim Burley : We are opting for flexibility instead of stiffness : bend with waves, tilt with gusts of wind. Protei is mostly submerged so it may not endure the waves as bad as a conventional boat. Think of it as a torpedo with a sail. Because the body is mostly cylinder-shaped, it is easy to make self-righting.

      @Ron : Thanks ! you make our project possible !

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      Ron Bassilian and Jim Wheelock on March 30, 2011

      This is really awesome - a textbook case of why I love Kickstarter.

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      Jim Burley on March 30, 2011

      How do you deal with severe ocean/weather conditions?

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      Cesar Harada on March 17, 2011

      @Nadine : Thanks a lot Nadine for your support! We are working on the 1m long prototype for backers next week, so in about 2 weeks at most, you should be able to see how your Protei will look like - we'll post a link on youtube. It is not difficult to ship, so don't worry, we'll get it to you :D Also, I need to clarify : the kit will have everything you need : the remote control, the crystal, batteries etc. so you'll just have to put the parts together and sail away!!! Thanks again for your support!

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      Nadine Freischlad on March 16, 2011

      Exited to see this develop, fingers crossed. If it's too much of a hassle to send me my protei, no worries, I will pick it up myself one day!

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      Cesar Harada on March 15, 2011

      @Will : The Project is open-source, so anyone can decide to support, use and modify the project. BP owns many chemical and oil-absorbent companies -indirectly-, so they are "the client" as much as they are "the market challenger". They might primarily support Protei for the image as part of their marketing strategy ; we know what we are doing and which interests we are serving : the environment and the people.

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      will on March 14, 2011

      I think BP should buy the large logo :p

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      Cesar Harada on March 6, 2011

      @Thingstodo : The $20 manual will have all the Protei versions ever tested, including the large full-scale Protei. The color edition is the same as the black and white edition but easier to read. The large print is the standard the industry needs to manufacture Protei with all the production details.

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      thingstodo on March 5, 2011

      Is it possible to build the Protei with the manual from the $20 level? Do the color illustrations and larger prints make it easier, or is there more information?

331
Backers
$33,795
pledged of $27,500 goal
0
seconds to go

Funding Successful

This project successfully raised its funding goal on April 12, 2011.

Pledge $1 or more Pledge $1 or more

15 Backers

Insider updates of Protei ahead of public releases on the Kickstarter blog.

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57 Backers

Your name on protei.org as "backer".

Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more

98 Backers

Your name on protei.org as "backer" + a link to your website.

Pledge $20 or more Pledge $20 or more

52 Backers

We send you a black and white instruction manual to build your own Protei.

Pledge $40 or more Pledge $40 or more

25 Backers

We send you a color instruction manual to build your own Protei.

Pledge $70 or more Pledge $70 or more

31 Backers

We send you a color instruction manual signed by the Protei team + Large manufacturing technical prints

Pledge $150 or more Pledge $150 or more

15 Backers

Protei blue hoodie for man and woman. With Protei drawings and logo.

Pledge $275 or more Pledge $275 or more

1 Backer

We send you the raw materials to build your own remotely controlled 1m (3.2ft) long, articulated, inflatable Protei. The design and functionalities would be similar to the one of Protei002 (http://goo.gl/dWG7p). You will need good DIY skills and your own power tools to build Protei from the raw materials.

Pledge $400 or more Pledge $400 or more

2 Backers

We send you a remotely controlled 1m (3.2ft) long, articulated, inflatable Protei in KIT to assemble yourself. The design and functionalities would be similar to the one of Protei002 (http://goo.gl/dWG7p).

Pledge $900 or more Pledge $900 or more

2 Backers

We send you a fully assembled remotely controlled 1m (3.2ft) long, articulated, inflatable Protei that is ready to sail! Batteries included :) + We add you as "editor" on Protei.org + you get a yourname@protei.org.

Pledge $2,000 or more Pledge $2,000 or more

2 Backers

You get to be in the first group of beta-sailors to control the first full-scale Protei from the web interface + We send you a remotely controlled 1m (3.2ft) long, articulated, inflatable Protei in KIT.

Pledge $3,500 or more Pledge $3,500 or more

0 Backers

If you are in the Netherlands, we invite you to sail the first full-scale Protei Prototype from the shore with a remote control + We send you a remotely controlled 1m (3.2ft) long, articulated, inflatable Protei in KIT.

Pledge $6,000 or more Pledge $6,000 or more

1 Backer

We add your logo (small) on the first full scale Protei hull that may receive significant media coverage + We send you a remotely controlled 1m (3.2ft) long, articulated, inflatable Protei in KIT.

Pledge $10,000 or more Pledge $10,000 or more

0 Backers

We add your logo (large) on the first full scale Protei + your sponsor description on Protei.org + fully assembled and ready to sail 1m Protei

Project By

Woodshole.large

Connected as Cesar Harada (2281 friends)

Cesar Harada (27) is a designer and researcher. French and Japanese, he moved from Boston to the Gulf of Mexico to develop Protei, an Oil Spill cleaning robot. Cesar is TED Senior Fellow, also the coordinator of the Open_Sailing group which aim is to build the International_Ocean_Station as an Open Hardware project. Cesar was recently project leader at MIT, construction manager of the Mobile technology *iHub_ in Nairobi Kenya. He graduated from the Design Interactions at the Royal College of Art in London, and has background in industrial design, animation film and construction. Cesar loves judo, cycling, swimming and sailing :)

  1. protei.org