ugo conti's spider boat

it’s a wonderful time for design as more and more designers recognize the intrinsic time-tested elegance of solutions developed in nature and adapt them to the needs of human beings. not surprisingly, the designs are ergonomically and functionally superior to the designs currently in use that tend to fight against the water, air, or earth they are passing through or over, rather than work with it.

san francisco designer dr. ugo conti knew that travelling on water was something he loved. unfortunately he also discovered that he experienced sea-sickness due to the motion of the boat as it reacted to the waves it passed through. so he sought a solution to this age-old problem. he studied the shape and design features of insects that traversed the water . . .
here’s video of water striders . . . . and from this experience he developed the wave adaptive modular vessel or wam-v.

the wam-v applies some of the features of these water walkers and adapts them to human needs through the incorporation of “a superstructure (that) is flexibly connected to specially designed pontoons by several components that actually move in relation to one another. a wam-v™ has springs, shock absorbers and ball joints to articulate the vessel and mitigate stresses to structure, payload and crew. two engine pods, containing the propulsion and ancillary systems, are fastened to the hulls with special hinges that keep the propellers in the water at all times.”

the wam-v has made many public appearances and has been involved in a mission to visit italian marine protected areas and underwater counterparts in the united states, known as national marine sanctuaries. an excellent and comprehensive article on this project can be read here.

a comprehensive look at the design process and the finished wam-v in action can be seen in this excellent documentary from kqed

if you would like to learn more about this innovative design then you should visit the wam-v’s homepage.