Alec Brief: Spoonji: A floating barge that utilizes sensors and GPS trackers in order to monitor the PH level of the water surrounding a sponge as well as tag its location on a digital mapping program. When the barge encounters a sponge, it releases a capsule containing PH level sensors and a radio transmitter. Then, the barge marks the location of the aforementioned sponge on Google maps. With the help of this tool, researchers can monitor the chemical content of the water near the sponge without gathering local samples. Spoonji brings an otherwise obscure species of freshwater sponge to the public’s eye, and it will provide a way for the citizens of Massachusetts to interact and care for the sponges. The main component of Spoonji is the floating barge that is powered by two, bottom mounted motors. The barge consists of a wood body along with two sealed PVC pipes for flotation.When instructed to do so, a servo controlled crane atop of the barge drops a capsule containing monitoring equipment and weights into the water. The equipment is contained in a PVC pipe capsule. There isn’t anything technically innovative about this project, it combines multiple pieces of existing technology into something original. For example, the barge by itself is not innovative, but by integrating a crane system with the barge a completely original product. This project encourages people to interact not with the project itself, but with the sponges that it is surveying. The Spooji is a medium in which ordinary citizens of Massachusetts can play a part in aiding a local species.

Amyir Brief: A small remote-controlled barge designed to monitor and protect the freshwater sponge, which helps filter pond water and eats bacteria.Gas emissions from cars, and oil and gas that run off roadways, all contribute to the pollution that raises the pH levels in small ponds  and threatens the freshwater sponge. The barge is a remote-controlled barge about the size of a duck,designed to scare away ducks, one of the sponges' main predators, and to monitor the sponge environment. An underwater camera attached to the barge will allow a user to find freshwater sponges and direct the barge to drop a small module with a pH level sensor and a GPS tracker Freshwater sponges filter bacteria from pond water. This project is helping the sponge by monitoring the pH levels around the sponge with minimal disturbance to the environment in order to make changes in the future. the importance of monitoring the pH levels is that we can find out what things are changing the pH levels and make changes in the future and to scare away the predators of the fresh water sponge. A RC barge users are no longer using big boats to drive through the water to find 3 or four sponge then test the water and drive away the boats  that would me used to find the sponge would be further polluting the water.