Ocean Pi
Run your code on our oceanographic research and learning sailboat.
We are currently in the process of acquiring a schooner as the Planet School’s sailing school vessel and commencing OceanPi during the summer of 2024. Learn more.
Inspired by the Astro Pi project, Ocean Pi gives youth anywhere in the world the chance to participate in oceanographic research aboard an active sailing vessel that navigates between the Great Lakes and the Caribbean twice a year.
If you are young at heart but too old to submit code to our boat, you can still access all of the Ocean Pi data. Coding not really your thing? Check out our other projects!
Run your code at sea
We will download your code to Rose and run it while we are underway.
Mission Zero
Display a custom image aboard Rose for the ship’s crew to enjoy. This project is a fork of Astro Pi’s “Mission Zero,” which was restricted to European Union residents. This is a great project for beginners and primary school children.
Time: 1 hour
Age: Under 19
Mission Motion
If you already participated in Mission Zero, this mission is for you. First, you can use the ship’s motion to animate the image you made in Mission Zero. Next, use the ship’s motion to draw a custom sketch that is unique to when your program runs.
Time: 2-4 hours
Age: Under 19
Mission Wind Power
Your challenge is to use Raspberry Pi sensor data from Rose and a bit of sailing physics to determine which sails are set whenever your program is run, which will happen randomly. Will your program make the same decision as Rose’s crew?
Time: 2-4 months
Age: Under 19
Use AI to go Cloud Hunting
Write code to analyze the photos taken from our deck camera to determine cloud type and compare it to the cloud hunter’s guide. Clouds are like Pokemon—some are rare, some are common—can you catch them all?
Time: Ongoing
Age: Anyone
Utilize our data stream
We publish all of the data we collect for aspiring scientists around the world.
Create a Water Alert
We will pass through very diverse bodies of water (e.g. Great Lakes, locks of the Panama Canal, Pacific Ocean) and cross currents like the Gulf Stream. Create an alert based on our data for when we sail into new waters.
Time: Ongoing
Age: Anyone
Custom Research Project
Our data is free for anyone to use, so you are welcome to use it as part of any project you want to. We only ask that you acknowledge Ocean Pi and the Planet School when you use it.
Time: Ongoing
Age: Anyone