Autonomous vehicleshelping in security and ensuring asset protection across public spaces and private organisations is something that we hear of every day. However, very little is known about these vehicles helping in managing waste and even less so of those that run underwater.
From the assessment of the size of a waste pile to the detection of its thermal heat, autonomous vehicles can collect data that are more detailed and insightful than ever. Unlike manned flights, theyare a lot more affordable and can acquire equally detailed data. Thus, employing them rather than adopting traditional on-ground inspection method, can not only be cost-effective but time-saving as well, for waste management organisations. In addition to this, in many countries, theyare being used to pick up garbage at public places and also identify industrial litterbugs that illegally dump factory wastes. The images and videos captured are used as evidences to take necessary actions against them.
While these are mainly the use-cases of aerial autonomous vehicles, when it comes to waste management,even those that run underwater play an important role. An ideal example is WasteShark by Ranmarine Technology, a Netherlands-based tech start-up that specialises in the design and development of industrial autonomous surface vessels for ports, harbours and marine environments.Modelled on the Whale Shark, WasteShark is equipped for waste and data collection underwater, having a swim time of around 10 hours and is capable of cleaning over 500 kg debris a day. Having roped in a number of investors, one of which is the Luxembourg-based investment firm Boundary Holding founded by Rajat Khare, RanMarine has been able to achieve unparalleled feats in the clean-tech sector.
The role of aerial and under-water autonomous vehicles has advanced tremendously over the years and with their applications in the waste management industry, the traditional method of land inspection and garbage collection has been completely redefined. If embedded with IoT, these automated vehicles can possibly operate all the more efficiently.
