The floating units of the FPV prototype developed by sbp sonne consist of air-filled membrane tubes (“tubes”), similar to an inflatable boat. This innovative concept enables very fast installation, while the geometry and internal pressure of the tubes can also be adapted to the site and environmental conditions. Blowfish, originates from its Hungarian word – Gömbhal, thus reacts to special situations similar to an inflating blowfish.
Blowfish is the first bifacial FPV system. On land, bifacial systems typically provide a higher energy yield since they can also use the light reflected from the ground. However, they have not been used in FPV systems before due to the significantly lower reflectivity (albedo) of water compared to solid ground. Gömbhal addresses this problem by using a membrane underneath its modules that reflects solar rays and simultaneously serves as a load-bearing structural element like a typical lightweight structure.
Not only do the tubes, which are only filled with air on site, feature a low transport volume, they also ensure a particularly fast assembly by simply inflating them. In addition, the system offers less target areas for longitudinal waves and, thanks to its flexibility, is less sensitive to impact loads than conventional systems.
