2025 Galleries
The Spark Gallery pages are one of our most popular design destinations, with thousands of visitors each year. Check out some of the latest Spark entries, in the galleries below.
Galleries // 2025 Spark:Spring Student // REFA
REFA
Finalist
Competition: Spark:Spring Student
Designer: Siyoung Kim
Design Type: Concept, Product & Industrial Design
Company / Organization / School: Keimyung University, Korea Design Membership +
Team Members: Siyoung Kim, Uijeong Cho & Jinhee Eo
As global warming causes sea temperatures to rise, corals lose their symbiotic algae and undergo bleaching—leading to widespread coral death, the loss of marine biodiversity, and the collapse of natural coastal barriers. Traditional diver-based manual restoration methods are slow, labor-intensive, and largely ineffective in fully rehabilitating bleached coral ecosystems. In response to these challenges, the REFA project was initiated to offer a more precise, efficient, and scalable solution.REFA is an autonomous underwater drone engineered for coral reef restoration. It begins by scanning ocean conditions using integrated temperature and salinity sensors to locate optimal transplant environments. Utilizing TagLab technology, REFA then conducts real-time coral health analysis to identify viable fragments. A robotic arm delicately extracts the healthy tissue, which is automatically aligned with one of three coral-type-specific structures—each tailored for massive, plating, or branching morphologies—within a rotating internal cartridge. These modular structures are designed to match both the physical form and ecological function of each coral type, promoting stability and growth.REFA’s system eliminates the need for manual labor in harsh underwater conditions, enhancing restoration speed and accuracy. Operators can monitor restoration progress remotely using real-time location data, enabling consistent ecological management and supporting long-term marine biodiversity recovery.
