It's called WasteShark and it's a mechanical whale shark designed in the Netherlands that can collect up to 350 pounds of plastic per day in our seas
The sea is one of the most polluted places on earth. The big problem in our waters is plastic. Not only the one visible to the human eye, but also the invisible plastic micro-particles that are eaten by fish and can be ingested by humans. In the Pacific Ocean alone, there is a plastic island larger than France.
Scientists have been trying to find a way to reduce the use of plastic for years and are developing tools to help clean up the seas, groundwater and soils from waste materials. The solution could be represented by WasteShark, literally the waste shark, a "plastic-eating" robot developed by Dutch company Ranmarine Technologies, which specializes in cutting-edge solutions for cleaning water. The robot has the name shark because its shape is really inspired by the whale shark and its large "mouth" is used to collect plastic in the sea.
The robot shark that promises to clean the seas of plastic
But how does WasteShark work specifically? You know the little robot vacuum cleaners that we sometimes see passing in the apartment of friends or relatives, here the system of use is very similar. The shark robot, however, can also be monitored remotely while in the water as well as clean the sea from plastic independently. WasteShark's battery allows up to 16 hours of uninterrupted sea cleaning and its central tank allows it to collect up to 350 pounds of plastic per day. As if that wasn't enough, the "plastic-eating robot shark" also has several sensors inside and collects lots of data on the amount of plastic present and the general pollution of the waters in which it operates. The information is then turned over to a team of experts to make decisions about whether to swim in the sea or whether to drink the water from an aquifer. In short, the next time we see a robotic shark while we are bathing, we will not be scared but reassured.