Symbio Explorer Sekepe sa Lipatlisiso by Guo Qian

Symbio Explorer Sekepe sa Lipatlisiso by Guo Qian is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Moputso oa Tšepe oa A' Design Award in Moralo wa Dikepe tsa Manobonobo le Dikepe tsa Leoatle Competition Category.

TšepeSekepe· 2026

Symbio Explorer Sekepe sa Lipatlisiso

by Guo Qian

Client: Southern Marine Science And Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai)

Moputso oa Tšepe oa A' Design Award Winner in Sekepe Category

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The Design

About Symbio Explorer Sekepe sa Lipatlisiso

SymBio Explorer ke sekepe sa lipatlisiso se itsamaisang se etselitsoeng maeto a saense a libakeng tsa leqhoa. Sekepe sena se sebetsa e le sekepe se seholo sa mesebetsi ea li-drone tsa moeeng, tsa holim'a metsi le tsa ka tlas'a metsi, 'me se ka laoloa ho tloha hole. Mekhoabo e tsoelang pele ea tlhaho e tsamaea ho tloha ka pele ho ea ka morao ho sekepe, e fa 'mele oa sekepe sebopeho se kang sa tlhaho ntle le likhutlo tse thata. Lisebelisoa tsa mosebetsi tse kang li-hoist tsa A-frame li monyeletsoe ka pono ka har'a 'mele oa sekepe ho boloka sebopeho se kopaneng. Deck e ka lehlakoreng le letšehali e tšehetsa ho phahamisoa ha li-drone, athe lehlakore le letona le sebelisetsoa ho li khutlisa. Sekepe se bolelele ba limithara tse 88.5 le bophara ba limithara tse 14, 'me se sebelisa tsamaiso ea motlakase ka botlalo.

The Recognition

About the Moputso oa Tšepe oa A' Design Award

Symbio Explorer Sekepe sa Lipatlisiso ke mohapi oa Moputso oa Tšepe oa A' Design Award, kananelo e hlomphehang e fuoang meralo e metle e finyellang litlhoko tsa porofeshenale le tsa indasteri tse lebelletsoeng ho lintho tse hlahisitsoeng tse entsoeng hantle. Bahapi ba Tšepe ba bontša bokhoni bo boholo, bokhethehi bo phahameng, kutloisiso ea litsebi le bokhoni ba boqapi ba baqapi ba bona. Symbio Explorer Sekepe sa Lipatlisiso e lebelletsoe ho ba ntho e hlahisitsoeng e hlomphuoang haholo, e ratoang le e ratehang, e sebetsang le e nang le mehopolo e mecha. Moralo ona o hapileng Moputso oa Tšepe oa A' Design Award o kenyelletsa mekhoa e metle ka ho fetesisa ea indasteri mme o na le litšobotsi tsa theknoloji tse nang le bokhoni tse amanang le tsebo le talenta. Ka lebaka la botlalo ba eona, Symbio Explorer Sekepe sa Lipatlisiso e tšoanelehela tlhompho mme e entsoe ho fana ka ntlafatso ea bophelo e thusang ho etsa hore lefatše le be sebaka se molemo.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Conventional research vessels follow engineering logic with industrial forms. This design challenges the fixed opinion by conceiving mothership as an entirely new species, a futuristic artificial-marine organism", a mysterious intelligent entity. It is neither a cold exploration instruments nor a larger whale, but a new aesthetics object, which emphasize a new ethics of species interaction, ecological balance and sustainable coexistence. It can achieve polar scientific expedition. The Design enhance visual ruggedness and embody the spirit of exploration.
Dimensions & Packaging: Designed Displacement 2100 tons; Length 88.5 meters; Width 14.0 meters; Depth 6.1 meters; Maximum speed 18 knots; Economic speed 13 knots; Fully Electric Propulsion ；Autonomous Navigation and Remote Control;
Tags: i-ship , Symbiosis, Biology, artificial-marine organism, Intelligence
Production Technology: The design employs continuous organic curves throughout form and detail. From bow to stern, from bridge to drone deck, the fluidity of these curves achieves formal closure while integrating functional requirements into a unified biomorphic envelope. This approach eliminates fragmented lines and rigid orthogonal geometries typical of modernist industrial design. Through the comprehensive application of form, material, and color, operational equipment such as A-frame hoists are visually absorbed into the hull, reducing their perceptual prominence and reinforcing the continuity of the overall silhouette.
Design Challenge: The overall spatial layout is the key to ship design. Engineers are mainly responsible for organizing functional relationships and improving the efficiency of equipment and pipeline layout and placement. Designers consider the skeletal proportions and overall appearance of the appearance, as well as the humanized content such as the behavior and experience, perception and comfort of scientists and crew members. The challenge of the project lies in the communication, collaboration, debate, and compromise between designers and engineers.
Research: The form research by two steps, named "reverse engineering". Firstly, polyurethane foam and oil sludge are used as materials, and the model is manually made at a scale of 1:100. Then, the solid model is taken as the object, and key point sets are collected by laser, and then imported into the 3D software (Rhino 7.0 version) for parametric design modification.
Inspiration: SymBio Explorer imagines the research vessel as a new species, proposes an "artificial-marine organism" between machine and living creature. The biomorphic silhouette externalizes its identity as an intelligent unmanned system mothership. Merging "Symbiosis" and "Biology," it embodies a new ecological ethics: the ocean is not a resource to exploit, but an entity coexisting with humanity.
Project Duration: The project started in June 2024 in Guangzhou and finished in May 2025 in Beijing.
Operation Flow: The SymBio Explorer is an autonomous, remotely-operable research vessel serving as a coordinated mothership for aerial, surface, and underwater drone systems. Certified with i-ship (No, R1, M, I) intelligent notation, it achieves autonomous navigation in open waters, assisted berthing, remote monitoring, equipment diagnostics, and predictive analysis. The port deck serves as UAV launch platform while starboard accommodates recovery; stern-mounted systems deploy surface craft and submersibles.
Image Credits: Image #1: Modeling and Rendering, Mothership, Zhou Rui, Li Tianyu;
Image #2: Modeling and Rendering, silhouette, Zhou Rui, Li Tianyu;
Image #3: Modeling and Rendering, iceberg, Zhou Rui, Li Tianyu;
Image #4: Modeling and Rendering, 45 degree, Zhou Rui, Li Tianyu;
Image #5: Modeling and Rendering, close up, Zhou Rui, Li Tianyu;