The world’s oceans are filled with human-generated pollution, particularly plastics – just read about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to get a general idea about the scope of the problem. Industrial designer Elie Ahovi says he has a solution to the problem. He, along with a team of designers, drew up a concept marine drone designed to capture garbage in the ocean without harming marine life.

The Drone 1-001-1 concept features a steel body construction with composite materials for strength and lightweight operation. Its battery-powered motors are quiet and efficient. Ahovi estimates the drone could remain submerged for about two weeks before needing a charge.

The ocean drone uses an infrasound system to help it navigate away from schools of fish and larger underwater objects. This system emits a sound that irritates fish and other sea creatures helping to keep them from entering into the drone’s netting.(click image to enlarge)

Similar technology is currently utilized by SHOAL, a European research group. The team at SHOAL developed robotic fish designed to detect pollution in the water and report it back to the scientists in real-time. The robotic fish are able to communicate with one another and automatically swim back to the base when battery power is getting low.

If you think about it, using the robotic fish to detect the pollution, and then launching a trash-collecting drone to clean it up is actually an efficient way to pinpoint the hardest hit areas of the ocean for cleanup.

Ahovi’s Marine Drone is certainly an innovative idea and viable design, but it would take quite a few of these drones to make a dent in our oceans’ pollution problem. However, it’s definitely a step in the right direction. No word yet on whether the Drone 1-001-1 will ever actually be produced, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a prototype getting its feet wet within the next few years. It’s such a good idea; why waste it?

Via: TG Daily