1,152
Backers
$83,424
pledged of $80,000 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding period
Sep 12, 2012 -
Oct 12, 2012
(30 days)
- First created · 3 backed
- Eamon John Carrig 841 friends
- Website: automarinesys.com
Pledge $1 or more
281 backers
THANKS, AND HERE'S SOME TRUTH We’re after data, and we hope you’ll share our conviction that the world needs it. To this end, we will publish data accrued throughout the lifetime of any robotboats built with the support of the kickstarter community free for the world on our website.
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $8 or more
148 backers
POSTCARD FROM THE EDGE. Backers at this level and all higher levels will be invited to submit a short phrase. We will choose our top five favorite phrases and put them up for a vote. We will then have Robotboat sail the phrase (see bottom of main section) and produce a postcard from the GPS trace. We will then mail the postcard to you so you can brag to your friends about how cool Robotboats are.
Estimated delivery: Feb 2013Pledge $20 or more
209 backers
FLOATY KEYCHAIN Sailing enthusiast? Water lover? Key aficionado? Perhaps this sponsorship level is right for you… tell the world you realize that which gets measured gets managed. Help us measure the oceans more efficiently than ever.
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $45 or more
253 backers
LOOKRIGHT a fine t-shirt for your torso. Limited edition hand screened robotboat shirt. Unprecedented sartorial splendor can be yours!
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $100 or more
86 backers Limited (414 of 500 left)
NAMETAG It may be a long lonely journey, but robotboat will carry a piece of you with it wherever it goes. We’ll gladly engrave your name/text (<20 char) on the hull as a token of our appreciation for your generosity.
Estimated delivery: Dec 2012Pledge $500 or more
12 backers Limited (488 of 500 left)
BOAT IN 4D Backers at this level will receive a small 3D printed model of the Robotboat Mk VI, our deep gratitude, and the NAMETAG reward as detailed above. This is the same technology we've used throughout development. Every time you lay eyes upon it, may it verily remind you that somewhere out on the open sea a robotboat is sailing under your patronage on the behalf of science.
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $1,000 or more
13 backers Limited (23 of 36 left)
BIG DEAL We hope that plenty of people will see these Robotboats in action. Why shouldn't they see your sponsorship as well? Support at this level includes placement of a 6 inch by 6 inch (150 mm x 150 mm) logo, message, or image on the sail. Plus a 3D printed model of the boat as detailed above.
Estimated delivery: Dec 2012Pledge $5,000 or more
2 backers All gone!
HUGE DEAL Sponsors at this level will get ultimate placement of a 12 in x 12 in (300 mm x 300 mm) graphic of their design. Plus a 3D printed model of the boat. Plus a top flight sailing jacket (see below left). Plus an invitation to the maiden voyage.
Estimated delivery: Dec 2012Pledge $10,000 or more
0 backers Limited (1 of 1 left)
TIPPY TOP Name the boat (keep it social, please). Christen it. Get decked out in all of the robotboat apparel mentioned above. A trio of 3D printed models? Yeah you got those. You will be invited as the guest of honor at the maiden voyage. TJ will cook you dinner.
Estimated delivery: Dec 2012
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Show older commentsCreator Sarah Hulcy on April 30
All I can say is "Wow!" This is wonderful. Congratulations to all.
Creator Stephen Teng on April 7
Just checking on the progress.
Creator Eamon Carrig on February 4
hi Jo
They went out weeks ago... let me double check the address we have on file for you...
Creator Jo Stolk on February 4
Any idea when the t-shirts will ship? Reward details say Nov 2012, still haven't got mine :(
Creator eastpole on December 20
Got my keychain up in Canada today! Thanks! Good luck in the cold water this winter and don't let up on your mission here, OK? Let's do it in memory of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory.
Creator Stephen Teng on November 25
When is the estimated launch date?
Creator ryn.burns on October 14, 2012
I want to swim with robots! Way to go dudes! And TJ... SLAPT!
Creator albert on October 13, 2012
Whew, I was worried there for a minute. So excited to see this project come to fruition, surprisingly so. Woo!
Creator Joe Krikler on October 13, 2012
I'm happy to say I was mistaken - that last surge of backers was just enough to get the project funded. Well, guys, you have the money, now go build some robots!
Creator jfa82 on October 12, 2012
Score! Congrats, Eamon & co. - John
Creator Johan Sosa on October 12, 2012
Funded.
Creator ColoTJGirl on October 11, 2012
Oh yeah, maybe East Coast is different but suggest you refrain from using Yum-yum yellow and Disco Gold colors on the bots, an expensive lesson I once witnessed (just glad the camera was not mine).
Creator ColoTJGirl on October 11, 2012
Best wishes to you guys, go do some good and tell us all about it!
Creator todd simmons on October 11, 2012
I love what your guys are doing! I could only kick in $20 but i hope it helps. Hopefully this will be the start of something amazing. It's a shame i cant throw 2 mill your way.
Creator Brian Auxier on October 11, 2012
Congrats I hope you guys get the data we all need.
Creator TomTom Tommie on October 11, 2012
how about 2?
Creator Stewart Davis on October 11, 2012
Wow, you did it... what a great project!!!
Creator Thomas Daddona on October 11, 2012
All your Kickstarter backers ROCK.
Creator jfa82 on October 11, 2012
Congratulations! Looking forward to seeing the Mark VI in the waters near me soon. :)
Creator Joe Maron on October 11, 2012
Congratulatios!
Creator Joss Redfern on October 11, 2012
Congrats, what a sucessful push to the end. Well done
Creator Johan Sosa on October 11, 2012
They met the goal, but let's hope people keep pledging. I'm sure every dollar above the goal means more testing or robustness in the final product and better chance at the world record.
Creator Conor Neu on October 11, 2012
Boom, $80k. Congrats! Can't wait to see it in action.
Creator eastpole on October 11, 2012
You did it! Congratulations, I can't wait to see how the world looks from a hundred ocean currents.
Creator Ian Nashvillian Rhett on October 10, 2012
i *think* I just increased my pledge from $8 to $100 (It said there was a "problem in the process" and yet now shows my pledge level at $100.). I also stressed to my FB feed how important and awesome your project is. I really believe in you guys, your idea and vision and really want to see it happen for all of us! I'm totally on board. :) Crazy amazing story of social enterprise, too. I'm sure y'all will do it! Someone just needs to get you on BoingBoing and Reddit (I've got no swagger there). I'm putting you in my next music video, too, fwiw. I love watching the number going up even as I write this. You got this!
Creator Joe Krikler on October 10, 2012
Come on, come on, just 2k more and we've got the full $80,000! Let's do this people!
Creator Eamon Carrig on October 10, 2012
@John perhaps they will spare you... : |
@Jan I ain't got no karma man...
@Tyler sorry pal but we put a lot of thought into our price points and we just can't do shirts that are up to our standards for $35... yet. There might be more apparel in the future, when fundraising is less of a priority
@Enthused, Sent, and TomTom thanks gang!
Creator TomTom Tommie on October 10, 2012
From 45 to 60 because i wish to believe that facts change the world. Lets make this happen!
Creator Sent fan Wyærda on October 10, 2012
Pledged what I could spare today. Hope the $5 helps to get/keep the wind in the sails.
Creator EnthusiasticStudent on October 10, 2012
Added $12! Come on people, let's make some science! :-)
Creator Tyler on October 10, 2012
I want this picture of yours http://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/157/401/08c6fa160f741d371ba17c45d4d0ba4f_large.png… on a shirt - for a $35 pledge.
I think lots of other people would also.
Creator Jan Blažíček on October 10, 2012
Hey guys, you should post this to some of Reddit's science related subreddits. Those guys can make wonders if you have some luck and it doesn't get buried. But as this is so close to it's goal, it would be a shame not to try everything! Good luck!
Creator John Billings on October 10, 2012
Here, have some more money. The rise of the robots must continue.
Creator Eamon Carrig on October 10, 2012
@ Thomas, Brain, and Johan. It's been an emotional rollercoaster this last month and your generosity and kindness have brought a tear to my eye.. one manly tear.
Creator Johan Sosa on October 10, 2012
You guys need to send out an update to rally the backers. If each backer increased their pledge by just $9 or got one of their friends to pledge, we would reach the goal. I increased my pledge by $20 (not just $9 because I know there may be a few who couldn't).
Creator Johan Sosa on October 10, 2012
You guys need to send out an update to rally the backers. If each backer increased their pledge by just $9 or got one of their friends to pledge, we would reach the goal.
Creator Brian Henderson on October 9, 2012
Yeah, me too. I just want a model of the boat, but every little bit helps nonetheless. Let's do this! It's (robotboat/oceanographic) business time
Creator Thomas Daddona on October 9, 2012
Maybe you should do another update that would be sent out to all backers. I just upped my pledge, just happened to look and saw how close you were. Good luck.
Creator Brian Henderson on October 8, 2012
Besides, there was a nearly (if not actual) 10k jump just the other day. It could happen again.
Creator Eamon Carrig on October 6, 2012
@jk1957 1st: Don't count Robotboat out yet; it ain't over til it's over and we've seen plenty of jerk in the signal before. 2nd: Sadly, reducing the goal of an in-progress campaign is expressly prohibited by KS's terms of service. For what it's worth, I support that caveat. It goes a long way to making sure that ultra-early adopters don't get short changed. We appreciate your enthusiasm, and are honored by the support and consideration of all our backers.
Creator Joe Krikler on October 6, 2012
Guys, is there any way you could reduce your overall goal before reaching the deadline? I don't think it's likely you'll reach the full $80,000 by October 12, but you've already gained over $50,000 in pledges, and it would be a real shame not to get that money - even if it isn't enough for your overall plan, it could certainly help you on your way. I want to see your project succeed as much as you do.
Creator Eamon Carrig on September 27, 2012
@Cleveland wow so great to see that announcement - thanks for bringing it to our attention!
Creator Cleveland Motley on September 27, 2012
Hi,
http://www.xprize.org/prize/wendy-schmidt-ocean-health-x-prize
You guys should check this out, it is a 1.5M$ x prose for OA sensor tech. Just announced at the conference i sent your link to. Good luck!
Creator Cleveland Motley on September 27, 2012
Pledged! Good luck you guys, i sent this to my friend at an Ocean Acidification conference, hopefully it gets spread around! You guys could really make a huge difference in the world!
Creator Brian Auxier on September 21, 2012
I hope you guys make your goal! We need more data on the world around us before we mess it all up.
Creator Steve Baines on September 21, 2012
I've made a small pledge (and selected no reward) because I think this is a project worth doing. I did have to give serious thought about whether to donate at all given that you are keeping the technology closed, but I think I understand your reasons.
Basically, as has been said earlier, external investors are going to want the technology, and the fact that you are getting patents is presumeably where you see the value to external investors (who, frankly, probably won't care about the science, just the business opportunities).
So it comes down to why those investors get access to the technology, but KS supporters don't. I guess it ultimately comes down to the amount of money. To get access to the tech and patents, outside investors will be expected to stump up serious money. If you open sourced it to keep us KS'ers happy, then you'd have a hard time attracting external investment, so the KS would be the main funding. The way you are running it, to use the KS to attract funding for the next stage of development, so you can then use that as proof of technology to attract big external investors, sounds quite sensible to me.
So do I ultimately feel robbed because I'm donating money to what is basically a private company? No, because I think this is a tech worth developing, access to the data seems like a fair offer, and I can see that by not opening it up, you have something of value to attract the much bigger funding later.
So, my donation is to help make the free dataset possible, not because I expect to own the tech.
In an ideal world, then yes, it would all be open, but I can see that by opening it, you would be a lot less likely to end up getting your fleet.
Creator Joe Krikler on September 21, 2012
Great idea, hope you guys get the funding you need. When you've done full test runs with Robotboat, you should start pitching it to marine companies - I'm willing to bet a lot of research, fishing and engineering firms would be willing to pay for a cheap, rugged data-gathering drone.
Creator jago pearce on September 21, 2012
Would really like to build my own one of these...
Creator Eamon Carrig on September 20, 2012
@ Harley - thanks for voicing your support. Check out Wired from July for more drone info.
@ Philip - You were not the only curious one. I added some more info to the FAQ. I can't be too specific there, but I hope it helps.
@ Dunno-Lars - You rock. I just thought of a new reward that might interest folks like you. Rest assured we will be use KS' update features to keep in touch.
Creator Dunno-Lars on September 20, 2012
This is actually pretty interesting, chipped in $5 just to know how it goes. In return, I hope you will use Kickstarter updates to, you know, update people.
No use for any of the rewards, and certainly not the data. Just found the whole thing interesting.
Good luck!