Ear: Buoy

Earlier this month, there were sightings of an unusual, enormous ball-shaped unidentified floating object meandering around in Puget Sound. The device is not of alien origin, no matter how it looks.

It’s actually a renewable energy capture buoy prototype named Ocean-2, made by Panthalassa in Portland, that was being tested, The Everett Herald in Everett, Washington, reported.

Panthalassa’s motto is “energy for everyone,” and to accomplish that goal their team covers several scientific bases, with members coming from “rocket companies, aerospace giants, research universities, naval architecture firms, software companies, metal fabricators, the armed forces … ” and more.

How it works: The 200-foot-long Ocean-2 stays horizontal while in transit, but when it’s in operation, only the 30-foot bulb at the top is visible. “It is designed to operate far from shore,” Panthalassa co-founder Garth Sheldon-Coulson said. “It sits in the ocean and turns energy from the ocean waves into very low-cost energy using simple, reliable technologies.”

The testing is over, and Ocean-2 will return to Portland. Next up? Ocean-3. (Photos: Panthalassa)