This thesis presents the design process of a platform to automate the task of shellfish aquaculture. Compared to traditional methods where shellfish are manually cleaned from fouling regularly, our platform can eliminate this tedious task using a simple design. Inspired by the intertidal zone’s low and high tide characteristics, our platform simulates this behavior by employing an air-water displacement mechanism to periodically float the shellfish above the water’s surface, exposing fouling organisms to air and sunlight. While shellfish have developed the ability to stay alive even during low tide, these fouling organisms cannot survive after prolonged exposure, thus preventing them from forming. Additionally, the platform provides an alternative approach to growing various types of sh...[ Read more ]

This thesis presents the design process of a platform to automate the task of shellfish aquaculture. Compared to traditional methods where shellfish are manually cleaned from fouling regularly, our platform can eliminate this tedious task using a simple design. Inspired by the intertidal zone’s low and high tide characteristics, our platform simulates this behavior by employing an air-water displacement mechanism to periodically float the shellfish above the water’s surface, exposing fouling organisms to air and sunlight. While shellfish have developed the ability to stay alive even during low tide, these fouling organisms cannot survive after prolonged exposure, thus preventing them from forming. Additionally, the platform provides an alternative approach to growing various types of shellfish, therefore benefiting the aquaculture industry. We introduce the design of the platform and provide a comprehensive analysis of the introduced mechanism. We also demonstrate the practical deployment of the platform for cultivating barnacles and pearl oysters.