In an attempt to reduce the vast amount of plastic in the oceans, the Dutch company RanMarine Technology built an aquadrone that sucks up garbage from the water. The drone is called the WasteShark, and it can remove up to 200 liters of trash in one trip, as well as alien/pest flora.
WasteShark is designed for round-the-clock waste collection, as its scans and monitors the environment, sending data back to central command.
The drone is a learning machine continually collecting data about the environment and is is designed after one of nature’s most efficient harvesters of marine biomass, the Whale Shark.
The drone can operate by up to 16 hours a day collecting waste, which can be plastics, micro-plastics, alien vegetation (e.g. duckweed), or even floating debris.
It can sail in trafficked water, confined space and tight angles, while it comes in two models:
- Class A: Remote control;
- Class B: Autonomy Level 1: mapped by waypoints, Data enabled for environmental sensors and cloud reporting.
The drone doesn’t harm fish, the company said as it will sail away from them, as well as ships. The WasteShark will not operate in major shipping lanes, however it will be visible to shipping traffic, as the maritime law constitutes.
WasteShark is not planned to go out in the open oceans, as the company wants to clean trash at ports and harbors, stopping debris from entering the oceans.
