A student project that began as a way of helping surfers remove plastic pollution from the sea is scaling up its award-winning design with ambitions to revolutionise marine industry research using artificial intelligence.
Clearbot, which manufactures autonomous marine robots, has developed an all-electric fleet of 12 self-driving bots. Each can clear 250 to 300kg (550 to 660lbs) of ocean waste at a time. They can also move and deliver goods on water and perform marine inspections – all with no emissions as they rely on solar power. In addition, Clearbot has developed special modules: one can be deployed to clear aquatic plants that block waterways, while another can absorb and collect oil from the water’s surface.
The co-founders of Clearbot, Utkarsh Goel and Sidhant Gupta, established Open Ocean Engineering in 2020 while studying at the University of Hong Kong. It began as a project to help Indonesian surfers gather plastic from the sea, but when they tested the system in places such as Hong Kong and India, they soon realised the problem was greater than they had first imagined. Goel and Gupta knew they had to scale up.
The Clearbot team is exploring the use of artificial intelligence to trace ocean debris to its source and aid marine research in finding sustainable solutions to pollution. Photo: Handout
In 2021, Open Ocean Engineering entered the inaugural City I&T Grand Challenge in the Open Group (Environmental Sustainability) and won HK$800,000 (around US$102,400) in co-creation funding from the government for prototyping. The company also received support from the Innovation and Technology Commission for training in market research, product design, patent rights, pitching, and other essential skills.
“The funding from City I&T was critical in a unique way,” said Goel, who divides his time between India and Hong Kong. “The funding gave us the opportunity not just to produce a bot; it also helped us do market research. This was around the time when we were trying to understand the different use cases [of our design], and the fund helped us see what different marine services we could do with our bot.”
“We got to pilot it with an actual client, and using this funding, we deployed the boat on the ground,” Goel added.
The scale and severity of the marine pollution problem in Asia and beyond calls for radical and innovative solutions. Photo: Handout
Beyond winning funding, Goel said the most significant catalyst for Clearbot’s early growth was the guidance the company received to promote the viability of its product in the market. “That support and experience for us, very early in our company’s life, gave us the time to sit back and understand the design and engineering requirements better, where we could think about product design, prototype, manufacturing and build something out that goes to a client,” he added.
Clearbot has increased its team from four to 20 and upgraded its fleet from just one automated bot to 12 within the last year of growth. The start-up has gone on to partner with multinational tech companies such as Razer and Microsoft, engaged in commercial projects with Sino Group and Bupa, and secured investments from the Alibaba Entrepreneur Fund (AEF) and Gobi Partners Greater Bay Area, which have also become springboards for financial support for Clearbot’s growth.
“As the team scales from 20 today to even 50 people, we now have the experience of knowing with whom to do market research and how to approach prototyping for new bots,” Goel said. “It enabled a grand vision where we see these bots going from 10 to 100 to a thousand.”
Goel says Clearbot’s capabilities could bring significant value to marine research. Photo: Handout
Goel hopes the exposure generated by competitions such as the City I&T Grand Challenge will bring sustainability-minded innovations to the forefront. “In the beginning, our challenge was that we gave the impression of [being] 23-year-olds who were really passionate about the environment and just doing it for charity,” Goel said. “But I hope we can set an example and show people that you can build innovative start-ups that also have a positive impact on the environment: to have a business that focuses on sustainability but also makes money at the same time.”
As the bots are powered with artificial intelligence, they are able to detect and analyse debris for information such as the product brand and – by tagging its geolocation – the waste material’s movements, eventually enabling Clearbot to trace the problem to its roots. “We’ve tried to find who’s producing these materials in the first place,” Goel said. “But, can we work with them to bring about the change to make things more sustainable? That would bring huge value to marine research, but we’ve not really got to that scale. I hope in the near future, that’s something we can do.”
The City I&T Grand Challenge is returning for its second edition, which will begin in April. It offers a chance for all sectors of the community to submit creative solutions and show how innovation and technology can help drive positive change in Hong Kong.
Foodlink Foundation works on reducing food waste and hunger in Hong Kong
Sidhant Gupta (centre) at the inaugural City I&T Grand Challenge awards ceremony. Photo: Handout
Launched in 2020, the Grand Challenge provides winners with funding and training to take intelligent solutions for the community and turn them into tangible reality. This year’s competition theme is “Hong Kong’s Got I&T”, aiming to showcase the best talents across all sectors in the city who are putting forward solutions that target two issues: I&T for Nature and I&T for Community.
I&T for Nature looks for solutions that help improve the operation and management of country parks and campsites and enhance hikers’ experiences in nature through I&T. Meanwhile, I&T for Community is about enhancing support for carers through the application of technology.
Entrants can participate in one of four groups – primary school, secondary school, university/tertiary institute, or an open group.
Submissions for this year’s City I&T Grand Challenge are being accepted until May 16, 2024. Visit the Grand Challenge website here.
Source: Students’ winning competition idea tackles ocean pollution with seafaring cleaning bots
