A prototype of the robot developed by students of Abu Dhabi University.

Abdulrahman Saeed, Staff Reporter

Five female students at Abu Dhabi University (ADU), Saba Barfis, Dana Al Manala, Tasneem Al Assaad, Lin Al Asadi, Iman Al Naqbi, under the supervision of Dr Mohammed Ghazal, Dr Anas Al Tarabshah, and engineers Omar Al Ali, Yasmin Al Khalil, Marah Al Halabi, and Maha Yaghi created a robot using artificial intelligence to clean the sea from various types of plastic, floating and mineral waste, which threaten the marine environment.

The new robot is powered entirely by solar energy which is a clean, reliable, and sustainable energy source.

The student, Saba Barfis, explained that the robot works with an autonomous, self-driving and sustainable mechanism for cleaning the sea, as it is specifically designed to clean water surfaces safely and continuously.

Student Dana Al Manala said, "The amount of waste is increasing in the world every year, and human practices affect the land and water surfaces, threatening the marine environment with plastic and other types of floating waste. This endangers marine life and thus humans, as many fish, turtles, and aquatic species die due to eating plastic. Our invention aims to help revive the aquatic environment by purifying it from all kinds of waste floating on its surfaces, in addition, our robot will help people working in the field of cleaning water surfaces by significantly reducing their long working hours.

Student Tasneem Al Assaad explained that the robot is designed to navigate autonomously in a marine environment by studying multiple paths and deciding on the most energy-efficient path based on the number of waste and detected obstacles.

Tasnim added that by using the robot, the entire sea can be cleaned with solar energy, as its battery is charged through an off-grid photovoltaic system upon completion of the cleaning trip.

A DIP controller is also used to ensure that the robot does not deviate from its path, using artificial intelligence, which enables the robot to detect and track waste in the marine environment.