Marine litter is a major environmental problem around the world. As part of EU Horizon 2020SeaClear, a research team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now developed an autonomous diving robot that can detect and retrieve litter. 

Researchers at from ITR, as part of the EU Horizon 2020 SeaClear project, have developed an autonomous underwater robot system that detects and retrieves marine litter. The system includes a service boat, a search robot, and a larger diving robot equipped with cameras, sonar, and a four-fingered gripper capable of handling objects up to 250 kilograms. In a demonstration in Marseille, the robots successfully collected items such as car tires and seats, proving cost-effective at depths greater than 16 meters. This technology offers a safer, scalable alternative to human divers for cleaning polluted underwater environments.

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