AssetID: 54966281
Headline: UNCAPTIONED: Meet The Robotic Sharks Cleaning Up The U.K.'s Rivers And Seas
Caption: Meet the robotic sharks cleaning up the U.K.'s rivers and seas. In several of Britain's cities you might spot something unusual in the water - a robotic shark. The WasteShark isn't something to fear, however. It's a small, electrically powered autonomous surface vessel (ASV) designed to skim waste from the surface of water. It's been deployed in cities including Leeds and London, as well as in the sea off North Devon. Modelled after the whale shark's filter-feeding behaviour, the sleek, catamaran-style craft collects plastic, organic debris and floating rubbish with a wide, open mouth as it moves serenely through the water. Developed by RanMarine Technology, a Netherlands-based firm founded by inventor Richard Hardiman, the WasteShark is the first of its kind to operate in the UK. “WasteShark is a drone on water and it's designed to sweep the surface of the water and collect trash, debris, biomass out of the water and return it back to land. We have two versions: one that can be remotely controlled and one that is autonomous, very similar to a vacuum cleaner you might have at home.” In its first year of deployment in Leeds, the device has reportedly removed over 4,000 litres of waste from the water. The technology has gone down so well that a recent local campaign run by the Leeds Waterfront Group (LWG) to fund a second year of operations raised an impressive £45,000 almost double its intended target - in just under eight weeks. Fitted with water quality sensors, it also transmits real-time environmental information back to a central hub, offering valuable insights into the health of urban waterways.
Keywords: Science & Technology,WasteShark,robotic shark,autonomous surface vessel,ASV,waste collection,plastic pollution,urban waterways,Leeds,London,North Devon,RanMarine Technology,water quality sensors,aquatic waste,environmental data,filter-feeding,whale shark,waste removal technology,remote-controlled,autonomous operation,water pollution solution,biomass collection,aquatic ecosystem health,data collection,pollution control,technology innovation,environmental technology,waterway pollution,waste management,sustainable solutions,pollution reduction,eco-friendly technology,robotics in environmental conservation,clean water initiatives,autonomous drones,waste collection systems,waterway health,urban environmentalism,pollution monitoring,plastic waste solutions,ecological conservation
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