{"id":124355,"date":"2022-04-28T14:07:38","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T14:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.microsoft.com\/?p=446137"},"modified":"2022-04-28T14:07:38","modified_gmt":"2022-04-28T14:07:38","slug":"ai-enabled-robotic-boat-cleans-up-harbors-and-rivers-to-keep-plastic-trash-out-of-the-ocean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2022\/04\/28\/ai-enabled-robotic-boat-cleans-up-harbors-and-rivers-to-keep-plastic-trash-out-of-the-ocean\/","title":{"rendered":"AI-enabled robotic boat cleans up harbors and rivers to keep plastic trash out of the ocean"},"content":{"rendered":"

Millions of tons of plastic trash float down polluted urban rivers and industrial waterways and into the world\u2019s oceans every year. Now a Hong Kong-based startup has come up with a solution to help stem these devastating flows of waste.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
An early prototype navigates Hong Kong harbor. Photo: Clearbot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Open Ocean Engineering has developed Clearbot Neo<\/a> \u2013 a sleek AI-enabled robotic boat that autonomously collects tons of floating garbage that otherwise would wash into the Pacific from the territory\u2019s busy harbor.<\/p>\n

After a long developmental phase, its creators are planning to scale up and have fleets of Clearbot Neos cleaning up and protecting waters around the globe.<\/p>\n

The United Nations estimates that as much as 95% of plastic pollution in the world\u2019s seas gets there via 10 major rivers, eight of which are in Asia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And there are fears that the volume of plastic trash flowing into marine environments could nearly triple by 2040,<\/a> adding 23 to 37 million metric tons into the oceans per year. That would be equivalent to about 50 kgs of plastic garbage per meter of coastline worldwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we clean up our rivers and harbors, we are helping to clean up our oceans,\u201d says Clearbot Neo\u2019s co-creator Sidhant Gupta.<\/p>\n

At just three meters long and pushed along by a solar battery-powered electric motor, the Clearbot Neo systematically moves up and down designated sections of water \u2013 much like how a household robot cleaner moves across a living room floor.<\/p>\n

Unlike other and much larger marine trash collection solutions that are tackling pollution on the high seas, the compact nature of the Clearbot Neo makes it ideal for harbor, canal and river use.<\/p>\n

It skims the surface and scoops up floating trash onto an on-board conveyer belt fitted near its bow between its dual hulls and into a holding bin near its stern.<\/p>\n