Robotics At its Next Level Featuring a Robot That Can Eat Trash

The world of robotics has changed our lives in exceptional ways. From cooking, reading, customer service to assisting the healthcare industry, robotics has paved the way which is beyond excellence. Now it has stepped towards another level of innovation, a step towards cleaning oceans. Considering the vastness of our oceans, it covers more than 70% of the Earth's surface. To preserve the ocean, robotics brought Jellyfishbot, a robot that eats trash.

The picturesque port at Cassis, southern France, has discovered the perfect solution to plastic bags, discarded beverage bottles, and even food wrappers, floating in the water among the boats in the marina. The solution is a bright yellow-colored remote-controlled electric powered boat that dodges around the harbor pulling the trash into a net that it trails behind its twin hulls. This robotic boat is called Jellyfishbot. It is about the size of a suitcase which enables it to get into the corners and small tapered spaces which are difficult for the cleaner with nets to reach. The Jellyfishbot is now operating in around 15 French ports and also has been exported to countries including Japan, Norway, and Singapore.

The boat has the power to go anywhere. The boat is created by IADYS. Looking into this, San Diego non-profit Clear Blue Sea is developing a proto-type trash-collecting robot called "FRED". A marine technology firm based in the Netherlands, RanMarine, has also developed a robot called the "Waste Shark" which has been established to clean up garbage in Rotterdam harbor.

The boat has a radio-controlled guidance which is of 400 m (1300 ft) range with a dimension of 0.7 x 0.7 x 0.5 m (2.3 x 2,3 x 1.6 ft) weighing 18 kg (40 lbs). The battery level of the boat can be read via smartphone applications like Bluetooth. It is waterproof and robust. It can be easily handled by one person and has high cleaning performance.