Cesar Harada: A novel idea for cleaning up oil spills

When TED Senior Fellow Cesar Harada heard about the devastating effects of the BP Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, he quit his dream job and moved to New Orleans to develop a more efficient way to soak up the oil. He designed a highly-maneuverable, flexible boat capable of cleaning large tracts quickly. But rather than turn a profit, he has opted to open-source the design.

The French-Japanese inventor aims to harness the forces of nature as he invents innovative remedies for man-made problems like oil spills and radioactive leaks.

Harada believes that ocean currents, the wind and other naturally-occurring phenomenon can provide unique inspiration and novel solutions to mankind's worst disasters, such as oil spills and radioactive leaks.

He is the creator of Protei, a revolutionary sailing technology -- featuring a front rudder, flexible hull and open-soure hardware-- that allows for efficient clean-up of both oil and plastics from the sea. Currently based in London, Harada recently travelled to Japan and is designing Protei to measure radioactivity along the country's coast.

This video, filmed at TED's office, was first released on TED.com.

BY : TED Talks