Engineers at Cornell have developed a prototype for a snail-inspired robot designed to clean microplastics from oceans, seas, and lakes. The robot's design is based on a Hawaiian apple snail — a common aquarium snail that moves in a wave-like motion to stir up water and collect food.
Researchers were able to engineer a flexible, undulating robot that can sweep up tiny particles as it moves. The hope is this method will provide an efficient and sustainable way to clean Earth's waterways.
"We were inspired by how this snail collects food particles at the [water and air] interface to engineer a device that could possibly collect microplastics in the ocean or at a water body's surface," said Sunghwan "Sunny" Jung, senior author of the study as well as professor and director of graduate studies in Cornell's Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering.
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Microplastics are small plastic pieces, less than five millimeters long, which can be harmful to our oceans and aquatic life, as they can often mistake microplastics for food. Plastic is the most prevalent type of marine debris, according to the National Ocean Service. Marine and wildlife ingesting microplastics can eventually end up in the human food chain, which is potentially carcinogenic. Until now, most plastic collection devices cater to larger plastic debris.
The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit organization founded in 2013, is dedicated to developing and scaling technologies to combat plastics in the world's oceans.
"Our aim is to put ourselves out of business once the oceans are clean," the website reads, adding that "plastic pollution is a global crisis requiring urgent action."
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One of the technologies the organization uses to collect trash is an "artificial coastline" roughly a mile and a half long and comprised of a U-shaped barrier pulled by two vessels. Last year, the organization removed 11.5 million kilograms of trash from oceans and rivers.
Cleaning plastic out of our oceans, rivers, and other waterways is important for a myriad of reasons, including reducing harm to marine life by preventing entanglement and ingestion, preserving ecosystem health, and ensuring cleaner bodies of water, which contribute to cleaner air quality. By reducing aquatic life's exposure to potentially harmful particles, humans ultimately benefit as well.
Implementing innovative solutions, like the robotic snail, can go a long way to maintaining a healthier planet.
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