CHENNAI: A team of B Tech students from Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, has developed an autonomous vehicle ‘Waterbot’ that promises to clean water bodies and seashores. The catamaran-style bot is capable of sucking out 25 kg of plastic and other solid waste in one cycle. It comes with a suction pump technology. Using a beagle-bone camera, the vehicle is capable of differentiating between what is waste and what is good for the ecosystem.
Five students — Faizi Saif, Vishal Garg, Sudarshan Thorve, Abhinav and Manish Bhardwaj — have currently designed the prototype and successfully exhibited it during the recently concluded ‘Zero Carbon Challenge-2018’. Faizi Saif told Express that the bot is very stable due to its catamaran-style design. The final product, which would measure 2m x 2.5m, comes with solar panels on the top and will have enough power to run 24x7. It will also have GPS module.
The team said the major advantage of the bot is its manoeuvrability. “Catamaran and a flat-bottom hull design invest it with an impeccable manoeuvrability and stability. Its body is made up of carbon fibre, which is known for its unparalleled stiffness, strength and light weight. For our circuits and wiring, we have made use of aluminium, well-known for its versatile nature. On the electrical front, it is equipped with a variety of sensors, which enhance its functionality manifold. On top of that, the whole assembly is GPS-monitored,” Vishal Garg claimed.
They said the design patent application had been submitted. The team looks to incubate with Indian Institute of Technology-Madras research cell and in a couple of years down the lane, will set up a manufacturing unit in Chennai, which could deliver sufficient Waterbot units to clean up city beaches, they said.