The unmanned floating robot does it all.
ㆍThe oceans are currently afflicted by microplastics and oil, both of which are released by humans.
ㆍ‘KOAI’ is a startup that has developed a robot designed to capture, store, and clean up ocean debris.
ㆍBy utilizing personal garbage collection robots, humanity can maintain a peaceful life at sea.
We swim in a plastic sea
The ocean is filled with pollutants, with plastic making up over 80% of marine debris. When exposed to the sun and seawater, most of the plastic breaks down into tiny particles known as microplastics. These microplastics can find their way into our bodies, especially if fish consume them by mistake. When we eat these fish, we may also ingest the harmful substances present in the microplastics. In essence, we are surrounded by a sea of plastic.
Wipe the ocean clean
Who? A robot! South Korea’s marine technology startup KOAI has developed KOBOT, an automated robot that collects marine pollution. Their claim to fame is their ocean cleanup technology, which collects, separates, and stores pollutants. The robot moves around unmanned, collecting microplastics. A floating drone captures the coordinates of microplastics, and the robot follows it. In the future, the robot will be able to recognize and retrieve pollutants on its own.
There is a key reason why KOBOT is being used to clean up our oceans. They are designed to collect oil that has been accidentally spilled from ships. It is highly important to recover oil that floats on the surface as an oil film. To achieve this, a filter with nanomaterials is used to allow water to pass through while capturing the oil. The water and oil are then simultaneously drawn out and separated. The filter not only captures oil, but it also detects and captures 23 harmful chemicals (floating HNS), such as benzene and toluene, which are harmful to humans and float on the water’s surface. The collected oil is stored directly in the oil reservoir attached to the back of the KOBOT. All the necessary equipment, including the drone, oil skimmer, oil reservoir, power supply, transfer pump, and collection equipment, are integrated into one system.
On the move!
If humanity can live in the ocean, there will be a significant amount of waste generated from food consumption and disposal. There will also be oil spills from fuel storage tanks. Currently, an autonomous ocean cleaner named KOBOT is navigating through the plastic-filled ocean, ready to collect and dispose of trash as soon as it is detected. KOBOT has its own navigation system, enabling it to reach the source of the waste swiftly. It operates as a self-propelled robot without the need for a separate power source. Eventually, human may employ personal cleaning robots to maintain the cleanliness of their living spaces and help keep the oceans clean.
