Clearbot, a startup founded by University of Hong Kong graduates Sidhant Gupta and Utkarsh Goel, is aiding water cleanup efforts with AI-driven autonomous boats powered by NVIDIA Jetson technology.
The company's electric-powered vessels, ranging from 10 to 16 feet in length, use energy-efficient NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX processors to navigate waterways and collect trash for up to eight hours before recharging at solar docking stations.
"We believe that humanity's relationship with the ocean is sort of broken — the question is can we make that better and is there a better future outcome?" said Gupta. "We can do it 100% emissions-free, so you're not creating pollution while you're cleaning pollution."
Clearbot's technology addresses a critical environmental issue: according to the United Nations Environment Programme, plastic comprises about 85% of ocean litter, with an estimated 11 million metric tons entering oceans annually.
The autonomous boats employ two cameras — one for navigation and another for waste identification. Clearbot's founders trained garbage recognition models using cloud and desktop NVIDIA GPUs, building on image libraries from their cleanup operations.
Gupta estimates that while a traditional crew of 50 people can operate 15-20 boats, the same number can manage about 150 Clearbot vessels, significantly increasing cleanup efficiency.
The startup's impact is already evident in real-world applications. In Nongstoin, India, building materials manufacturer Kingspan is using Clearbot to remove trash and oil from rivers and lakes, collecting 1.2 tonnes of waste monthly. At Umiam Lake in Meghalaya, India, a project involving Clearbot and the University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business has removed 15 tonnes of waste in just three months.
Beyond trash collection, Clearbot has expanded its services to include marine pollution control for sewage, oil, gas, and chemical spills, as well as undersea inspections for various environmental projects.
Unexpectedly, the geotagged data collected by Clearbot's vessels is proving valuable for environmental mitigation strategies. Local agencies can use this information to trace pollution sources and take targeted action against offenders.
"Let's say I'm a municipality and I want to ban plastic bags in my area — you need the NGOs, the governments and the change makers to acquire the data to back their justifications for why they want to close down the plastic plant up the stream," Gupta explained. "That data is being generated on board your NVIDIA Jetson Xavier."
As Clearbot continues to innovate, its AI-powered autonomous boats offer a promising solution to combat water pollution while providing crucial data for environmental protection efforts.