This oceans It currently contains between 26 and 66 million tons of waste, 94% of which has accumulated on the seabed.. Until now, collection efforts have focused primarily on surface debris, and those done to remove underwater debris involve human divers working in hazardous conditions. A group of researchers supported by the European Union (EU), First fleet of intelligent autonomous robots to tackle debris on both the surface and ocean floor.
EU funded SeaClear2.0 project, First autonomous robotic and artificial intelligence system that can find and remove debris from the ocean floor.
The idea is to use a fleet of smart robots to first detect and then remove marine debris. system a Combination of aerial drones, underwater rovers, autonomous surface ships and robotic grippers custom made.
wearing artificial intelligencerobots can do identify, find and collect garbage autonomously. The team aims to significantly expand the capabilities of the previous system, called SeaClear1.0, which successfully passed the tests.
The technology core of SeaClear2.0 is a highly advanced robotic system for automated garbage collection that can go deeper than SeaqClear1.0, lift heavier debris and also handle surface debris.
SeaClear2.0, debris a high resolution sonaras well as other types of sensors. It will also develop intelligent and maneuverable claw It can pick up large debris such as tires, bicycles or pipes.
First tests in the Mediterranean
The scientists will design a new compartment with flexible dividing chambers for different garbage fractions, similar to adjustable drawer dividers, to handle bulkier and heavier trash.
LGarbage from the surface will be collected by autonomous mobile equipment. Able to work in narrow and shallow areas.
With About 500 million tons of plastic reaches European seas each year“must be combined with” technological solutions to detect and dispose of garbagesocial interventions prevent and reduce the production and release of garbage by citizens“, say the supporters of the project.
Thus, SeaClear2.0 provides: empowering and mobilizing citizens through engagement events including geographic storytelling, a gamified garbage reporting app, cleanup, exhibitions, competitions and art installations.
The team will also suggest best sorting and recycling solutions will work with local communities and develop recommendations to increase the value of garbage collected. new policies and thereby addressing existing gaps in existing policies.
The new enhanced system will be demonstrated worldwide in three full-scale demonstrations and three pilot tests. Mediterrenian. In addition, the project will finance five subprojects to validate parts of the system and the approach in other parts of the Mediterranean basin.
The SeaClear2.0 project started on January 1 and it will take four years. The launch meeting is scheduled for February 14 in Delft, Netherlands.
A ‘mothership’, a drone and two ‘turtles’
The process begins with its use. ‘SeaCat’, an unmanned surface vehicle that scans the seafloormake a 3D bathymetric map and mark any large ruins you find.
‘SeaCat’ is also ‘mothership‘ system: all other robots step in, communicate and return to it. They also get power from it via cables. The computational resources required for detection, control and artificial intelligence components are also hosted in ‘SeaCat’.
When the water is clear enough, a Unmanned aerial vehicle (a flying eye DJI Matrice M210 RTK Replaced) search for garbage in the air. It is expected that larger garbage bags can be identified in this way and will inform a more detailed search using the underwater robot in the next step.
A tiny unmanned underwater vehicle ‘miniTurtle’ then deployed via ‘SeaCat’ and certain close-up discoveries of the seafloor to find smaller trash. For this purpose, it uses a forward-looking camera and sonar, along with other sensors such as metal detectors. All this is added to the map where the waste is located.
Garbage is identified using artificial intelligence and deep learning object recognition techniques. These deep webs are trained to distinguish litter from marine life, thus ensuring that the system only collects what it needs to do.
then take action for a second Marine robot named ‘Turtle’Equipped with a clamp containing a suction device that assists. collecting garbage in difficult conditions, as among mosses. Each piece of garbage is recovered with great precision and then collected.
9 million budget
They are used to plan routes and control the movement of observation and collection robots. Intelligent techniques such as reinforcement learning and data-driven control.
Finally one emerges basket The ‘SeaCat’ and ‘Turtle’ robot picks up each piece of garbage and drops it inside to transport it to shore. The basket opening is specially designed to interact effectively with the grapple to prevent floating debris from returning to the water.
But the basket is not only a passive component, but also actively sending signals to help the robot find itself in the perfect place to take advantage of the opening.
The project receives funding from the EU’s ‘Horizon Europe’ programme. Its total budget is just over 9 million Euros.almost 8 of them come from community funds.
The consortium consists of 13 partners from 9 countries with a mix of expertise in public engagement, policy making, robotic sensing and control, artificial intelligence, marine and diving technology and operations, and garbage separation and recycling.
SeaClear2.0 (Scalable Full-Cycle Marine Litter Recovery in the Mediterranean: Robotics and Participatory Solutions) will expire in December 2026.
‘SeaClear’ project website: https://seaclear-project.eu/
…….
Contact address of the environment department: [email protected]
Source: Informacion
James Sean is a writer for “Social Bites”. He covers a wide range of topics, bringing the latest news and developments to his readers. With a keen sense of what’s important and a passion for writing, James delivers unique and insightful articles that keep his readers informed and engaged.