Roadmap

Phase 0 — paper architecture and community

• Publish architecture document (this site)
• Reference dock spec, reference fish spec
• License everything, open the GitHub org
• Initial DARPA / EPA / NOAA / NSF / foundation outreach
• Seed academic partnerships — TU Delft for chassis, biology labs for consortia

Phase 1 — tethered prototype

• Build shoal-chassis-A with tethered power and comms
• Build gut-hc-v1 cartridge, validate in lab with diesel-contaminated water
• Demonstrate energy-positive operation in static tank
• First dataset published

Phase 2 — untethered single-fish

• Off-the-shelf SoC (RP2350 or ESP32-S3) initially, not shoal-soc yet
• Standalone dock prototype (shore-tethered variant)
• Real river or contained pond deployment
• 10-fish initial run
• First pollution map data product

Phase 3 — shoal-soc and multi-fish

• Tape out shoal-soc on a commercial node (180 nm or 65 nm)
• Multi-cartridge fleet — hydrocarbon + organic + plastic
• Watershed-scale deployment in partnership with a municipal water utility
• Data product revenue covers ongoing operations

Phase 4 — fab convergence

• Migrate shoal-soc to OpenIE benchtop fab — closes the OpenIE loop
• Fleet expansion via data-product revenue
• PFAS and metal-precipitation cartridges as biology matures
• Open-source kit for any university / NGO to deploy a shoal in their watershed

Deeper

→ Architecture §7: Roadmap → Architecture §8: What needs original engineering