October 23, 2024

Sarah Nguyen 

12th Grade

Fountain Valley High School

A range of robots are being used throughout all of Asia to collect and remove plastic from waterways. The ten-foot-long automatic robot moves cleverly through the water as it consumes waste in the water. The gap in front of this robot boat is what allows the waste to enter while the conveyor belt is what removes the waste entirely. At the end of the conveyor belt is the collection basket where the garbage enters. 

Let’s put things into context; every year, about 33 billion pounds of plastic trash enters the ocean. The Co-founder of the robot, Sidhant Gupta, built this robot boat to combat the enormous amount of trash. With the ability to consume 176 pounds of trash an hour and carry 441 pounds, the Clearbot innovation is unique. Across Hong Kong, Thailand, and India, there are about a dozen boats in the hands of various governments and clients throughout Asia. The Clearbot runs on solar power and electricity, making it environment-friendly with no harmful emissions. The biggest four-meter boat can collect 441 pounds of garbage an hour and a total of 1.5 metric tons. This type of boat moves at about 3.5 miles per hour and places the garbage it collects in a barge towed behind it. The owners of the robot then work with recyclers and local waste management companies to see what they are going to do with all this trash. 

With the installed online dashboard and multiple algorithms, the Clearbot is designed to be guided remotely and have the ability to navigate around obstacles. The robot analyzes what it collects which allows officials to stem the flow of waste into waterways. The robot is not only capable of collecting trash, however; in Thailand, using the same conveyor used for the trash, the company boats are clearing up algae. The variety of sensors and tools allows the robot to map the bottom of waterways, test water quality, and collect samples. Gupta wants the Clearbot all over the world and is now focused on scaling up. By March 2025, he hopes to have over twenty boats and have 50 in operation within two years. 

The Clearbot is the new state-of-the-art water cleaning robot. It was created to fight the amount of trash entering the waterways in Asia. With the ability to collect 441 pounds of garbage an hour and 1.5 metric tons, the Clearbot looks like it is here to stay. This efficient, AI-powered, and self-driving robot is the future. The creator, Sidhant Gupta, has his mind set on expanding this robot and maximizing its potential.