Jellyfishbot, the marine waste collection robot
Jellyfishbot is a small marine drone whose mission is to collect floating waste and oil-spills from the water’s surface. Commissioned in June 2018 in Cassis in the south of France, it has since been adopted in several countries around the world.
The mastermind behind this project is Nicolas Carlési, PhD student in robotics and artificial intelligence who is also a diving and windsurfing enthusiast. Struck by the build-up of waste encountered during his underwater trips in the Mediterranean, he decided to put his engineering skills at the service of the environment. In 2016, he co-founded Iadys, a company that designs, develops and markets innovations at the crossroads of artificial intelligence and robotics.
Thus, Jellyfishbot was born, a small electrically-propelled robot designed to capture floating waste - especially plastic – measuring between 5 mm and 25 cm in length, and hydrocarbons on the water surface of more or less extensive and/or hard-to-reach aquatic areas such as ports, marinas, lakes, canals, as well as in leisure centres, hotels, residences and industrial facilities.
Compact and versatile
Its small size (700 x700 x 500 mm) allows it to weave its way everywhere and to easily reach waste carried by the wind and currents into nooks and crannies and saturated zones. To do this, the mini-catamaran made of aluminium and rotomoulded plastic floats is fitted with a net at the stern capable of collecting 80 litres of floating waste and 30 litres of hydrocarbons during each sortie. To collect the hydrocarbons, simply insert hydrophobic polypropylene sheets or "chips" into the net. Lightweight, silent, easily transportable, the small drone is remotely controlled with a joystick and is battery-run.
New features and international development
While several French ports, such as Cannes, Marseille, Monaco, Saint-Tropez and Dunkirk have acquired the robot collector, its reputation is also international since the Natural Marine Park of Mayotte, Neuchâtel (Switzerland), Singapore, Tokyo, Norway, and others, have opted for this depollution and port clean-up solution.
And Iadys does not intend to stop there: since January 21, the Jellyfishbot is available in a totally autonomous version that is capable of cleaning a predetermined area without requiring an operator. It is now also fitted with a 100% eco-designed re-usable collection net made from used fishing nets and kitesurfing kites.
Finally, Iadys has entered into a partnership with Thomsea, world leader in trawl collection of all floating pollution (hydrocarbons and macro-waste): a Thomsea trawl will be towed by two Jellyfishbots, thus doubling the waste collection capacity thanks to the large 3-metre-wide funnel-shaped nets with a capacity of 150 litres.
More information:
www.iadys.com/en
