Safety & ethics
shoal is open-source environmentally-released robotics with biological components. The constraints below are not optional — they are part of the open governance model.
No engineered organisms in the open environment
Only naturally-occurring consortia. Only enriched or selected, never genetically modified. Always sealed inside cartridges. UV-treated effluent. The dock biology reservoir is a sealed bioreactor.
Materials degrade to inert
Every external surface must be marine-inert, biodegradable, or recoverable:
- Hull skin: silicone elastomer (decades-stable, inert)
- Adsorptive coating: nacre-inspired graphene/cyclodextrin composite (biocompatible)
- Internal frame: PETG or PLA-PHA (biodegradable in marine env over 1–2 years if lost)
- Battery: contained in IP68 module, recoverable
- Cartridge: sealed, recoverable; biology never exposed
A lost fish must not become persistent pollution itself.
Acoustic emissions are biology-aware
Use JANUS frequencies and power levels validated against marine-mammal impact studies. Defer to local guidelines (e.g. NMFS) when stricter than the JANUS defaults.
Data privacy at the regulatory layer
The pollution map is a public good. Raw data may be subject to municipal, utility, or industrial confidentiality. Aggregation and access tiers are governed in the data layer.
Indigenous and community consent
Watershed deployments require local consent. Standard FPIC (Free, Prior, and Informed Consent) protocols apply.
Reporting concerns
Document under safety-and-ethics.md in the repo. Open an issue. Email maintainers. We treat all concerns as deployment blockers until resolved.