Hong Kong-based startup Open Ocean Engineering is on a mission to clean our oceans and rivers globally using a swarm of AI-powered, autonomous, trash-collecting robots it developed called Clearbot. The self-driving cleaning machine can detect and collect litter from water without disturbing wildlife. The company commercially launched the robot recently, last November.
Its vision of unleashing groups of these worldwide could really put a dent in our ocean plastic crisis. Clearbot is designed to remove trash from local waterways before it makes it out to the open ocean.
It’s a zero-emission solution that collects debris at scale using an onboard camera and artificial intelligence algorithms that can identify various trash types and compile data about the materials it collects. The data contributes to facilitating impactful policy changes within governments and corporations worldwide.
Clearbot can collect up to a ton of garbage per day (250 kg permission), holding up to 200 liters (53 gals) of waste in its belly at a time. It can clear a surface area of 1 square kilometer (0.4 sq mi) within eight hours.
Open Ocean Engineering works with recycling companies to get the waste sorted and recycled and with brands to incorporate recycled ocean plastic into products.
The company relies on corporations and individuals support to manufacture the robots and get them out in harbors, lakes, or canals where they directly impact local communities.
One or more Clearbots can be remotely controlled in real time. They can also operate autonomously, by which they will either move back and forth across a predefined geofenced area or use its integrated computer vision system to locate and go after individual pieces of floating litter. In both scenarios, the trash enters the open bow of the robot and accumulates in a mesh bin within.
Clearbot makes its way back to a central docking station when its bin is full or the battery starts getting low. If only its bin is full, it’ll automatically empty and head back out. If its battery is low, it docks and charges using a solar-powered charging system. One full charge of its battery should be good for 48 hours of use. The dock can store up to four robot loads of garbage before requiring manual removal.
Sidhant Gupta, the company co-founder, said, “At the moment, we’re focused on scaling up our solution in Hong Kong with land reclamation companies, where we help them with daily site cleanup activities. We also have an on-hold project in Surabaya, Indonesia, where we’ll be cleaning up two urban canals, currently awaiting Covid lockdown clearance.”
If you’re interested in funding a project, the rental rate is US$2,000 per Clearbot per month, and the company advertises your brand all over the robot. Autonomous water robots are finding new roles beyond cleanup. California researchers recently deployed a shark surveillance robot that patrols coastal waters for up to a week at a time, detecting tagged great white sharks and streaming live information to lifeguards.
