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The Office for Technology Transfer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is committed to amplifying the impact of WHOI innovations through technology advancement and successful licensing. Through strategic collaborations with industry and academic partners - WHOI aims to move technologies from lab to marketplace.

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Browse innovative WHOI technologies & licensing opportunities below or contact the Office for Technology Transfer to discuss other opportunities to help transition WHOI technologies to the marketplace.

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Technologies Available for licensing

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  • Aquaculture
  • Carbon Capture & Sequestration
  • Environmental Technologies
  • Ocean Robotics
  • Ocean Sensors & Equipment

SeaSalt Optical Calibrator

The SeaSalt Optical Calibrator is an integrated, low-cost fixture designed for in-orbit calibrations to maintain proper temperatures and reduce pixel distortion. The Calibrator can be easily installed in CubeSats and other small, low-cost satellites.

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Adaptive Aquaculture Feed Monitor

A vision-based, feed tracking system. The system monitors fish pre- and post-satiation, automatically characterizing fish behavior and size and adapting feed schedules depending on the conditions detected.

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Compact Dissolved Methane and Gas Sensor

The Dissolved Gas Sensor supports field-portable, in-situ, and bench-top measurements. The sensor can measure dissolved gases in liquids using only milliliters of the sample and produce a sample analysis time of only minutes. In addition, using a hollow-core fiber optic sensor allows analysis to be simple, robust, and conducted with a compact configuration.

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Wave Inertial Measurement Sensor (WIMS)

The Wave Inertial Measurement Sensor (WIMS) is a low-cost, low power consumption device measuring wave motion, height, period, and direction.

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Fresh/Salt Water Release

A reusable, quick-release system mechanism that can operate with or without conductive seawater, allowing seismographic research in saltwater and freshwater. In addition, the releasee utilizes less power than traditional burn wires, generating a release time of less than a few seconds, and can be reused during the same survey – saving time, money, and power.

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Midwater Oil Sampler

The Midwater Oil Sampler advanced autonomy in oil spill management. The sampler utilizes new autonomous vehicle behaviors, developed by the inventors, to support rapid response management.

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Doppler Shift Navigation

Swarm intelligence is a collective behavior composed of many individuals that coordinate using decentralized control and self-organization – typically used in aircrafts and drones because of the access to GPS, high data rates, and low-cost hardware. Integration into underwater swarming intelligence has been stagnant due to limited access to GPS, Wi-Fi, expensive navigation, and low data rate communications. WHOI scientists and engineers developed a family of innovations to generate successful underwater swarming capabilities.

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Dynamic Electric Motor

This technology is a novel Brushless DC (BLDC) motor system. The design is intended to decouple the torque constant from the speed constant in the BLDC motor system. This allows efficient torque and speed to be independent. The system couples two BLDC motors to a single shaft, with the first motor optimized for torque and coupled via a sprag bearing clutch. The second motor is optimized for speed and is directly coupled to the shaft. The outcome is a motor that is efficient over a large operating range

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INNOVATION SPOTLIGHT

Asymmetric Thruster

In 2017, WHOI engineers Jeff Kaeli and Robin Littlefield entered the WHOI Office for Technology Transfer Pitchathon, intending to win translational funds to advance what was then just an idea, the Asymmetric Thruster. This novel propulsion system, now a patented and demonstrated technology, produces forward thrust - as with a traditional multi-bladed propeller - but what is unique about the Asymmetric Thruster is that it also allows you to steer without any additional control surfaces. By altering the speed of rotation within a single revolution using just a single blade - the Asymmetric Thruster both propels and maneuvers. The simplified design, eliminating the need for fins, rudders, and additional motors, reduces weight, drag, and cost. Two years later, the team licensed this innovative technology, launched a startup company: ARMADA Marine Robotics, Inc., and are now looking to revolutionize marine submersibles.

via ARMADA Marine Robotics

Compact Marine Winch

Commercial and research operations require winches for hauling and retrieval in marine environments. Their many applications make them valuable, and often necessary, pieces of equipment. Currently available marine winches have large on-deck footprints, are difficult to service, are single purpose, require costly task specific fabrications, and are immobile once installed on deck. This lightweight, compact winch is a small footprint, frameless winch adaptable for a variety of marine applications. The winch is capable of hauling and supporting heavier loads, all while being lighter than traditional winch designs.

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