As you can read in on our main Research page, we are creating a program whereby members all over the world can help us learn how best to make seasteads safe, comfortable, affordable. There are an enormous number of questions to be answered when engaging in such a large-scale venture as creating new cities, and we can't answer them by ourselves.

While this program is still under design, we expect that it will involve a process like:

• We post a list of projects.
  • Some will have a little funding available for supplies.
  • Some will have a prize for successful completion according to some clear metric.
• If you find something that you're excited about and matches your skills, please let us know, so that someone else doesn't duplicate your effort. (If it's a funded project, there may be a simple application process).
• Then get started (playtime!).
• If you're a collaborative sort, post progress, intermediate results, and questions in the DRP forum, where you can interact with other distributed researchers and seastead hobbyists.
• When you've got some results worth reporting, take some pics and measurements, write them up, and post them to the DRP forum or add them to the (soon to be added) wiki.
• Publicizing results
  • We'll post the best ones on our DRP blog, and distribute any prizes due.
  • If the project is suitable for publication, we'll help you find an appropriate journal, format, and submit it.
  • We'll add the project results (if appropriate) to our book, giving you credit.
  • We'll have a DRP poster session at our annual conference, as well as talks for more substantial projects.

Here is our preliminary list of research topics. Over the coming months we'll be fleshing these out into more detailed proposals.

Systems

• Station keeping. How accurate a position can a seastead keep? Using GPS? How close can two seasteads be kept? Are walkways between seasteads feasible? How much power is required?
• Relocation. What is the best way to relocate a seastead? Self-powered? Tug-boats? How much power is required? How long does it take?
• Ballast Management. Water vs. Air? Where is the ballast stored?
• Leveling. How is the top of the seastead kept level? Air tanks? Automatic vs. manual leveling?
• Aerodynamics. What are the aerodynamic issues associated with a seastead?

Safety

• Safety Rules. What are the maritime safety rules for boats? How do they apply to seasteads?
• Medical. What level of medical support is appropriate for a seastead? How is medical evacuation done? Remote doctor support?
• Submarines. Seasteads are deeper than most boats, how to prevent collisions with submarines?
• Energy storage safety
• Fire safety. Sprinklers? Fire extinguishers? Fire hose? Training? Fire detectors? Smoke hoods?
• Life vests.

Power

• Power Management. Multiple power sources. Multiple power storage. Electrical wiring issues. DC vs. AC? Copper vs. Aluminum wiring?
• Power Storage. Batteries? What kind? Pumped water storage? Pumped air storage? Fly wheels?
• Fossil Fuel. What fuel? Diesel? Propane? Gasoline? Reliability? Fuel storage issues?
• Solar. Solar Cells? Solar Stills? Solar Heating? Sterling Engines? Area requirements? Trade offs vs food production? Integration with fresh water collection? Cleaning requirements? Storage requirements for foul weather?
• Wind. What rotor style? Interactions with station keeping? Behavior in high winds?
• Wave. What extraction style?
• Tethered power collection. Deployable energy gathering stations for solar, wind and wave that are towed in and stored during foul weather.

Water

• Architecture. Fresh water and/or. Salt water?
• Storage. Where? External bladder? Internal to spar? Interactions with ballast? Interactions with pumped water power storage? Pump issues? Interactions with food production? Fresh vs. grey vs. black water storage.
• Heating. Solar vs. electrical.
• Distillation. Solar still? Reverse osmosis?
• Usage
  • Dish washing? Wash with salt, rinse with fresh? Heating and drying?
  • Clothes washing? Wash with salt, rinse with fresh? Drying? Clothes line? Dryer?
  • Shower/Bath? Wash with salt, rinse with fresh? Recycle warm salt water?

Food

• Storage.
• Maximize food/calories per square meter of light.
• Garden.
  • Pest management
  • Mushrooms in spar (no light needed).
• Hydroponics.
• Diet. What is a balance diet given locally grown food
• Fishing. Aquaculture?
• Other Animals. Chicken (eggs + meat)? goats (milk + meat)? Animal feed.
• Tethered Farming.

Air

• Circulation. Control?
• Cooling/Heating
• Carbon Monoxide Detection? Smoke Detection? Vent closing for fire supression.
• Odors. Fart fans for bathrooms?

Lighting

• Electrical lighting. Fluorescent? LED? 12V?
• Light pipes?
• Windows? Are spar windows for light feasible? Are windows in the safety hull feasible.

Waste Management

• Sewage
  • Toilets. Fresh water vs. salt water? Toilet Paper?
  • Blackwater storage. Usage in garden?
• Garbage. Where to store? Ship back to shore? Gulp. Over the side?
• Grey water Management? Over the side? Back up to the garden? Storage?

Data Communications

• Inter seastead data communications. WiFi? 100-BaseT? Fiber?
• Intra seastead data communications. Wireless?
• Seastead to shore. Deep sea Internet connectivity. How? At what cost?
• Seastead to boats. What technology? What antennas? How much space required on top? Corner reflectors to improve detection from other ship radars? Does seastead require a radar? Voice? Signal flags? Blinkers?

Mobility

• Intra-seastead. Bridges? Boats? Sea-levator?
• Seastead to shore. Boat? Helicoptor? Gyro-copter?
• Seastead to boat. Crane? Tow line? Dock?

Defense

• Defense Architecture. What are the risks? What are appropriate responses? How much does all of this cost? Can it be out sourced?

Architecture

• Room placement. Where are the bedrooms? Kitchen? Dining room? Den? Bathrooms?
• Interfloor movement? Ladder? Stairway? Elevator?
• Storage.

Society

• Legal infrastructure. Laws? Police? Jails?
• Government Infrastructure. Representation? Constitution? Voting?

Miscellaneous

• Pretty pictures of seasteads for marketing