Industrial - Bachelors
This project focuses on designing an innovative solution that tackle plastic pollution issue and restore the sea turtle’s ecosystem. AquaBot is a vision-enabled autonomous underwater robot for monitoring plastic pollution in the ocean and maintaining a healthy ecosystem for sea turtles. It uses AI technology to detect and collect plastics in deep parts of the ocean.
Plastic pollution have a huge impact on our ocean including severe risks such as starvation, suffocation, entanglement, or damage to marine habitats. The accumulation of marine debris is caused by littering, storm winds, and poor waste management. Plastic enters the sea with the majority disintegrates into microplastic particles and builds up in coastal and deep-sea sediments. Plastic is designed to be very durable, therefore it can take between a few decades to potentially millions of years to decompose in landfill.
More than 10 million tonnes of plastic enters the ocean every year.
JACQUELINE MCGLADE, 2021.
The AquaBot is designed to enter the ocean and monitor marine debris. This device use AI technology to detect plastics and microplastics in deep parts of the ocean. The mechanical turtle is integrated with bionics, transforming its flippers into robotic arms for collecting larger pieces of plastics. This autonomous underwater device is used for monitoring plastic pollution in the ocean. Polycarbonate will be used for the polygonal lid on top of the shell as it is a tough, transparent plastic material with outstanding strength, stiffness, and impact resistance. The hexagonal parts on top of its shell will potentially incorporate ferrofluid, a non-toxic magnetic liquid that consists of oil and magnetite, attracting microplastics in the water. The internal components will be protected with waterproof, durable and highly corrosion resistant materials such as aluminium and steel. Using biomimicry to imitate the natural form of sea turtles and incorporate emerging technology such as AI and bionics to employ the structure of sea turtles. The flippers are utilised for collecting plastics and the shell for storing marine debris.
Submersible ROVs encounter harsh conditions and perform difficult tasks. They must also be lightweight to maintain neutral buoyancy for ease of navigation and optimal power consumption.
The shell and plastron of the device will be manufactured from aluminium since it is lightweight, durable, and sustainable. The material strikes a balance between lightness and strength, which is highly preferred in maritime industry for high corrosion resistance and structural fatigue. Aluminium is one of the most environmentally friendly metals as recycling aluminium saves 95% of the energy used in its production from raw materials.
Polycarbonate will be used for the polygonal lid on top of the shell as it is a tough, transparent plastic material with outstanding strength, stiffness, and impact resistance. The hexagonal parts will potentially incorporate ferrofluid, a non-toxic magnetic liquid that consists of oil and magnetite, attracting microplastics in the water.
The head and flippers will be made from stainless steel, which is able to avert corrosion due to the layer of passive chromium oxide that covers its surface. Stainless steel is used for smaller parts of the robot due to its lustre, strength, stiffness, durability, and longevity.
The internal components will be entirely protected with waterproof, durable and highly corrosion resistant materials.
Linh is an undergraduate student currently studying the bachelor of Industrial Design at QUT. She aspires to bring the impossible into reality and create changes for a better future through sustainable designs and innovation.