Solving Problems and Realizing Goals Through Open Communities
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from the article
- Damon McMillan told us about his project to build an eight-foot boat, a solar-powered autonomous craft. It was a project that started in his garage and he saw it as a personal challenge — not one done for a competition or to make money. He simply wondered if he could build this boat and if it would work. In May of 2016, he showed his boat at Maker Faire Bay Area and got lots of feedback on his design, and some skepticism on whether or not it would work. Later that same month, Damon took the boat to Half Moon Bay and launched the SeaCharger, setting it off on a 2,400-mile mission to Hawaii. The boat was able to inform him where it was on the journey via satellite. Some 41 days after launch, Damon and his family gathered in a harbor on the Big Island of Hawaii and watched his boat come to shore. Damon had built a boat and proved to himself and others what could be done with cheap electronics and basic fabrication techniques. He had completed a mission to demonstrate that his boat could sail on its own over that distance.