Clearbot Neo is an AI-powered boat that can collect 1 metric ton of ocean plastic per day
Every year, millions of tonnes of plastic garbage are washed into the world's oceans, and contaminated urban rivers.
By 2040, the amount of plastic trash entering marine ecosystems might nearly triple.
About 23 to 37 million metric tons of plastic waste is dumped into the ocean every year. This equates to around 50kg of plastic waste per meter of coastline around the world.
To tackle this problem, a Hong Kong-based startup has developed an AI-powered boat that can collect plastic waste from the ocean.
Image Credit: John Curran
The AI-enabled robotic boat is called Clearbot Neo and is developed by Open Ocean Engineering.
Image Credit: John Curran
It can autonomously collect tons of floating garbage from the ocean as well as detect and log the type of trash this AI-enabled boat collects.
Image Credit: John Curran
It can collect 1 metric ton of plastic waste per day for recycling or disposal. and can deal with fuel spills by collecting up to 15 liters of pollutants a day.
Image Credit: clearbot
Apart from collecting floating plastic, it can also measure the water quality and take pictures of each piece of plastic and send it to the control center.
Computer engineers Gupta and Utkarsh Goyal started working on their Clearbot solution soon after graduating from the University of Hong Kong in 2019.
Image Credit: clearbot
Image Credit: clearbot
Clearbot Neo's first aluminum-built prototype was built in Bali, then upgraded to a fiberglass version. Currently the Clearbot Neo is the latest upgraded model.