Water pollution is one of the leading causes of habitat loss in oceans, while making smaller water bodies easy medium for diseases. The problem is so wide-spread, and decades’ worth of waste piling up in water has done so much damage, that it is no longer possible to save the water bodies without cleaning them. Reduction of waste as an effective measure to reduce pollution is way past its prime. Rather than focusing on alternatives to plastic, the need of the hour is to undo our actions and take ‘cleaning’ of water bodies seriously, as many a times, the eco-friendly substitutes hopelessly end up in water. Innovation meant to protect the waters have received the latest addition of aquadrones, and the sector is being spearheaded by products like WasteShark: cleaning and analysing data simultaneously, developed by RanMarine.
Breakthrough technology
WasteShark series has been created by Richard Hardiman, that consists of intelligent tools that clean water. Modelled after Whale Sharks, the planet’s biggest fish, the products are designed to be efficient and long-lasting. It produces no light or noise pollution as it travels, poses no threat to marine animals and emits zero green-house gases. WasteShark can collect floating debris and biomass alike. It is ideal for the polluted oceans filled with plastic and other incidental flood debris. The drone is capable of removing up to one ton of waste per day (per unit). Its arrangement of a removable basket cartridge also allows waste to be disposed easily, this time to the right places, where they can be recycled or sent farther away from natural ecosystems. On a smaller scale, WasteShark can be used to clean plants, duckweed, and algae from ponds and canals.
WasteSharks have onboard POV operator cameras, easy launch system for shore access and deployment, and come with additional water quality data sensors. The drones follow radio-controlled guidance, have 4G communication and Lidar enabled anti-collision software, with a cleaning rate of 1000 m2/h. They have been developed in a way that a single man could run the device without any hassle, and one could run for 8-10 hours at a stretch. Two types of WasteSharks have entered the market till now; WasteShark Class M (Manual) and WasteShark A (Autonomous).
The innovation is a new milestone achieved in the path to cleaner waters for all. Initially, its design specifically catered to ports and harbours; as they receive quite a good number of people in those areas, lot of waste gets accumulated in the surface, thrown by careless travellers and indifferent locals. No matter the amount of awareness programs or change of mentality, when one object would be consumed by millions at a time, they would inevitably end up in natural habitats without getting the time to break down completely. WasteShark has great potential to be applied in bigger areas, and it has been put to test in other water bodies as well.
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