Thrash Robot to Cleanup Plastic

[Dhruv Boruah]

Hello Everyone,

I am a plastic pollution campaigner and currently trying to find ways for technology to find a solution. (BBC Story abt my project)

Have you seen this “Thrash Robot” from Chicago? I had a great chat with Alex yesterday who is making these robots and also open sourcing the design etc. I am working with the Canal & River Trust and maybe the Environment Agency to find a time/ location to launch this in the UK and we can try to get the Mayor Involved.

Would you know how can we make this happen in the UK?

I was wondering if someone in the community would like to pick this project up. If I get the tech support, I will sort out the logistical and other issues.

I look forward to your reply.

Cheers,
Dhruv

[Adrian Godwin]

Great idea !

I think london's streets are far worse than the waterways due to the council-encouraged habit of putting rubbish out on the pavements. But you've got to start somewhere and waterways have less potential for abuse than an internet-steered streetsweeper.

I might be interested in joining in, but there could be other avenues too - what about the various robot and junk-recycling TV shows ? What about Farnell (Element 14) and RS - they like to sponsor newsworthy projects and will donate lots of parts.

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[Jaanus Torp]

I work at RS at the moment so I can poke around to see if they would be interested in helping and get you a person to talk to if you like.

 

Jaanus

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[David Murphy]

“Thrash Robot”

My first thought was to look for youtube videos to see if there were any streams of people using the robot to ram ducks or swimmers etc.

Though it looks like it's not yet generally available like that.

It's neat as an art project but for getting anything done even a crappy algorithm is better than trying to crowdsource control because people will try to do whatever is most nefarious.

On Wed, May 9, 2018 at 3:05 PM, Jaanus Torp <jaa...@saun.ee> wrote:

I work at RS at the moment so I can poke around to see if they would be interested in helping and get you a person to talk to if you like.

 

Jaanus

 

From: <london-hack-space@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Adrian Godwin <artg...@gmail.com>
Reply-To: <london-hack-space@googlegroups.com>
Date: Wednesday, 9 May 2018 at 14:47
To: london-hack-space <london-hack-space@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [london-hack-space] Thrash Robot to Cleanup Plastic

 

Great idea !

I think london's streets are far worse than the waterways due to the council-encouraged habit of putting rubbish out on the pavements. But you've got to start somewhere and waterways have less potential for abuse than an internet-steered streetsweeper.

I might be interested in joining in, but there could be other avenues too - what about the various robot and junk-recycling TV shows ? What about Farnell (Element 14) and RS - they like to sponsor newsworthy projects and will donate lots of parts.

On Wed, May 9, 2018 at 1:38 PM, Dhruv Boruah <dh...@boruah.com> wrote:

Hello Everyone,

 

I am a plastic pollution campaigner and currently trying to find ways for technology to find a solution. (BBC Story abt my project)

 

Have you seen this “Thrash Robot” from Chicago? I had a great chat with Alex yesterday who is making these robots and also open sourcing the design etc. I am working with the Canal & River Trust and maybe the Environment Agency to find a time/ location to launch this in the UK and we can try to get the Mayor Involved.

 

Would you know how can we make this happen in the UK?

 

I was wondering if someone in the community would like to pick this project up. If I get the tech support, I will sort out the logistical and other issues.

 

I look forward to your reply.

 

Cheers,
Dhruv

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[Adrian Godwin]

Ban early, ban often

[Adrian Godwin]

I agree with your caution, but anyone who can swim in the thames - ducks included - can cope with a bit of ramming.

[henry...@ntlworld.com]

This is a TRASH collecting robot. No thrashing involved. Sorry to disappoint those of our readers that are into BDSM.

[Billy]

From the point-of-view of remote-control systems. have a chat with the aerospace sub-group, https://wiki.london.hackspace.org.uk/view/LondonAerospace

They've got experience and practise in building air-based drones. Water-based systems would use similar control electronics, allbeit with a different set of power constraints.

There's a few members who live on canal boats, so they would be able to help you with The Canal and Rivers Trust, who work with on the maintenance of the waterways.

One of the trustees, Jose, was telling me about a boatyard near Enfield lock. The owner was great when designing and building engineering solutions to the maintenance work, and re-build of Jose's boat.

There's also a couple of other members who live in mooring basins, on permanent moorings in Barking and Islington, who would also have an interest in new ways to keep their water clear.

IIRC, there are some sections of the canal that are classed as nature reserves/bird sanctuaries, so you would have to be careful during nesting season, but the C&RT would be able to tell you more.

There are also differences between the safety standards required for inland waterways, and tidal/inshore watercraft, as well as out-shore marine-craft.

This will be relevant as the Thames is a tidal waterway, so has different safety requirements. Hamish Campbell, who did a boat conversion, would be able to tell you more.

 http://musichackspace.org/ had a project where they were making underwater microphones, so they could put you in touch with folk who know about water-proofing electrical systems.

There's also one member who takes part in the Hydro-Foil group form the Victoria Park Model Boat club. They use the boating pond in Victoria Park, and are always happy to talk with people about water-craft designs.

Also, if you're doing things near Barking, Barking & Dagenham Council are trying new approaches towards the community infrastructure, so they may be amenable towards someone operating a locally-based project.

If i think of anything else, i'll add it to this thread.

On Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at 2:34:04 PM UTC+1, Dhruv Boruah wrote:

[Dhruv Boruah]

Hello Adrian, Sounds Fab! Thanks a lot. I really need someone to lead and make the technology happen; building on the core open source design of hardware and software. Yeah, I am sure we can get the parts sponsored. That would be fab and in terms of reality show, I have emailed Sarah Moore and I have direct contacts with BBC London/ One/ ITV to share the project and film from day one. What do you think abt the tech?! Would your previous experience help you improve/ innovate on the core original open source design? We need to adopt the original design but also improve it to showcase British Innovation which will go well with the government agencies.

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[Dhruv Boruah]

Hello Jaanus,

Yeah! Definitely! It would be great to have a conversation for sure ;) Would you help me out?

Cheers,

Dhruv

On Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at 3:10:40 PM UTC+1, Jaanus Torp wrote:

I work at RS at the moment so I can poke around to see if they would be interested in helping and get you a person to talk to if you like.

 

Jaanus

 

From: <london-h...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Adrian Godwin <artg...@gmail.com>
Reply-To: <london-h...@googlegroups.com>
Date: Wednesday, 9 May 2018 at 14:47
To: london-hack-space <london-h...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [london-hack-space] Thrash Robot to Cleanup Plastic

 

Great idea !

I think london's streets are far worse than the waterways due to the council-encouraged habit of putting rubbish out on the pavements. But you've got to start somewhere and waterways have less potential for abuse than an internet-steered streetsweeper.

I might be interested in joining in, but there could be other avenues too - what about the various robot and junk-recycling TV shows ? What about Farnell (Element 14) and RS - they like to sponsor newsworthy projects and will donate lots of parts.

On Wed, May 9, 2018 at 1:38 PM, Dhruv Boruah <dh...@boruah.com> wrote:

Hello Everyone,

 

I am a plastic pollution campaigner and currently trying to find ways for technology to find a solution. (BBC Story abt my project)

 

Have you seen this “Thrash Robot” from Chicago? I had a great chat with Alex yesterday who is making these robots and also open sourcing the design etc. I am working with the Canal & River Trust and maybe the Environment Agency to find a time/ location to launch this in the UK and we can try to get the Mayor Involved.

 

Would you know how can we make this happen in the UK?

 

I was wondering if someone in the community would like to pick this project up. If I get the tech support, I will sort out the logistical and other issues.

 

I look forward to your reply.

 

Cheers,
Dhruv

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[Dhruv Boruah]

Hello David,

Good call :)  I did that too! The robot at this stage is not practical yet for a full-scale rollout. Why not? Plastic Bags get stuck in the propeller causing the robot to become a navigational hazard in a busy working waterway, Maintenance costs to manage these robots in a controlled space. Most of the plastic is hidden under trees/ in the corners between boats/ shallow water which is not accessible to this robot and obviously vandalism and use of robot to thrash other river users as you mentioned.

Besides the biggest challenge is to ensure we do not encourage the attitude of - "Ohh, there are robots cleaning up out waterways now, let me chuck all my litter" 

Autonomous Robots to Cleanup, Check this one out : https://www.ranmarine.io/aquadrone-wasteshark

-Dhruv

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[Liam Lynch]

Hi,

Just a thought here. What are you going to do with the rubbish once you have collected it?

One of the reasons people litter is becasue govenment and local authorities make it very difficult to dispose of your rubbish. They charge business ALOT even though they pay all the WEE taxes when they purchase stuff which one day becomes rubbish. They don't collect it promptly or regularly. If you can find street bins they are usually over flowing.

If you take it to a council recycling center they are going to treat as commercial and send you away. Assuming that it is even open. (I live in Enfield, and they have had a WOW (War on Waste) campaign for years now. Which when you boil it down comes to 'Make it harder for citizens to deal with waste, they will make less of it. Which is total rubbish, forgive the pun. It simply leads to fly tipping, over flowing street bins and people hording junk and rubbish in gardens, sheds and garages, creating rats nests.

It is technically possible (although hard work) to create any number of drones or bots to go around picking it up, but without a route to sort and dispose of it all your going to do is create another problem. But now it's your problem. If you want to do this, then I think you need to also campagin to close the loop. Get proper disposal accessable not only to your own project, but if councils government do what we are already paying our taxes for them to do, then maybe people will actually stop throwing rubbish in the the wild. They will stop using cowboy waste handlers that fly tip and you will need less solutions to a problem needet be there. With out closeing the loop, all I can say is, good luck with that.

Liam

[Dhruv Boruah]

Hello Liam,

Thanks a lot for such a detailed reply and everything makes sense.

The planned robot is just a proof of concept to prove that the tech works and if there is a business model to support recycling on the back of this trial. For now the collected waste would be disposed off using the usual way which will be the councils waste management and yes, we do not know what happens after in the chain since the link to China is broken with the Recent Chinese Ban but other markets like India, Indonesia and Vietnam has opened up to fill the gap. The biggest worry is that these economies do not yet have the waste management infrastructure to deal with the waste and there is the danger of the waste ending up in the river, seas and to the one ocean!

The ideal solution is a challenge which is to standardise the waste management in the Uk and invest in building a solid infrastructure. There is lack of appetite from the industry to do this unless there are incentives from the government; even standardise the plastic sold.

This would be the ideal solution where all the waste is collected and sorted properly since most of these can be recycled and up-cycled achieving a circular economy. Few new business models are being developed but supply of secondary raw materials & collection of the waste is the challenge :(

I am not there yet but I am in the journey ! Let’s see!

Still looking for some help to build the trial thrash robot !

Best wishes,

Dhruv

- Dhruv on the move ...

[Adrian Godwin]

https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2018/05/3d-printed-autonomous-boats-could-help-ease-congestion-in-busy-cities/?utm_source=Adestra&utm_campaign=New%20EandT%20News%20-%20Automation%20FINAL%20-%20MEMBER&utm_medium=Newsletters%20-%20E%26T%20News&utm_content=E%26T%20News%20-%20Members&utm_term=https%3A%2F%2Feandt.theiet.org%2Fcontent%2Farticles%2F2018%2F05%2F3d-printed-autonomous-boats-could-help-ease-congestion-in-busy-cities%2F

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[Alex M]

Hey I'm a boater on the London canals and also work in a facility much like the hackspace so i have machines at my disposal to build stuff. This sounds interesting and if it is small enough (under 3m) it can count as a tender to an existing licensed boat. Defo up for a chat!

[Dhruv Boruah]

Hello Adrian,

Brilliant & Detailed too. Thanks for sharing Adrian. I need to get the open sourced design from Chicago but I have not found anyone in the UK to champion/ lead the hardware piece of the project yet ;) I am also co-authoring a paper led by MIT Media Lab about an Underwater Autonomous Vessel to collect plastic. From a operational part. Let's see where this leads.

ᐧ

P.S: Did you know that our Washing Machines cause Plastic Pollution? Help us prevent this by signing & sharing this petition

DHRUV BORUAH: Adventurer, Entrepreneur, Corporate Kid

See my BBC Interview & Business Insider web: www.boruah.com

Get involved with my current project: "The Thames Project"
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[Dhruv Boruah]

Hello Alex,

Brilliant. The original robot is here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/technology-43572010/trash-robot-cleans-up-chicago-river-s-rubbish . I have spoken to Nick and we can get their designs and improve on them. The challenge is also a direct line of sight for the internet else 4G does not work that well. Obviously, there will be a server/ software component too.  I know CRT very well ( See BBC One Countryfile Diaries Piece with them last week: 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b577rs

)

Shall we get on a call one day?! We can try to meetup in London too if you want. I am in Stoke on Trent running an event on 6/7/8

Cheers,

-Dhruv

ᐧ

On Wed, May 30, 2018 at 10:57 PM, Alex M <mcconn...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hey I'm a boater on the London canals and also work in a facility much like the hackspace so i have machines at my disposal to build stuff. This sounds interesting and if it is small enough (under 3m) it can count as a tender to an existing licensed boat. Defo up for a chat!

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[Dhruv Boruah]

Hello Billy,

Finally, I am in the FB group of London Aerospace. I have dropped a message there. 

Cheers,

Dhruv

ᐧ

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