SeaClear2.0 project

INFORDATA SISTEMI FOR

A TEAM OF AUTONOMOUS ROBOTS FOR UNDERWATER WASTE COLLECTION

Today’s oceans contain millions of tonnes of waste, about 94% of which is located on the ocean floor.

After the success of the first autonomous robotic system designed to search, identify, and collect underwater waste, through the SeaClear2.0 project, a consortium of European researchers will develop a team of robots to collect waste from the surface and deeper regions of the Mediterranean.

Infordata Sistemi is an external partner of the SeaClear2.0 project, which aims to automate the process of detecting, identifying, and collecting marine litter using a team of autonomous robots working collaboratively. Within the project, Infordata supported Venice Lagoon Plastic Free (VLPF) in the development of their SeaClear 2.0 Gamified App—designed to raise awareness about plastic pollution and promote community participation in marine clean-up activities. The app integrates gamification elements and a plastic footprint tracking system, making it an engaging and educational tool.

The team of researchers aims at significantly expanding the capabilities of the previous SeaClear1.0 system, which involved using robots for cleaning the seabed, as cleaning using divers endangers human life and is economically unsustainable.

SeaClear 2.0 is the new EU-funded initiative that will continue the activities already started by the previous project and will deploy a fleet of intelligent robots to identify and remove marine debris.

This system uses a combination of aerial drones, underwater rovers, autonomous surface ships, and custom robotic arms to do so. Using artificial intelligence, including to distinguish true waste from marine life forms, the robots will be able to autonomously identify, locate, and collect waste.

So far, collection efforts have focused mainly on surface waste. The SeaClear project is the only solution that leverages autonomous robots for underwater waste collection.

Watch the video to see how the system works.