A vision of plastic bags, discarded beverages, and even surgical masks drifting between the boats in the sea are usually seen by visitors visiting a gorgeous harbor at Cassis, south of France. But the port has come up with a solution, in the form of a bright yellow electrically-propelled boat called JellyfishBot that roams around the harbor and sweeps the garbage into a net behind the two hulls.

JellyfishBot is a little robot that collects waste and oil from the surface of the ocean. This robot is a more effective and adaptable decontamination solution for aquatic regions that are more or less extensive or difficult to access, especially in sheltered places: ports, marinas, lakes, canals, recreation centers, hotel houses, and facilities.

MarineBot can collect waste including hydrocarbons (oils, diesel, kerosene, gasoline), plastic (bottles, packaging, cigarette butts), metal, natural waste (floating wood), glass, or floating algae (green algae, red algae).

The principle of the marine cleaning robot is to define the GPS coordinates that will make up an area that can be cleaned and the smartphone provided for that purpose. Once configured, the robot moves to and from the cleaning area automatically, bypassing barriers in its path. The user can have remote access to the footage on his smartphone via an onboard camera during the mission. The operator then can operate the robot to take it back to the point of departure, where the net can be removed and emptied.

More than 10 million tonnes of plastic are estimated to be discharged every year into the oceans. Plastic, in many aspects, is a valuable resource, yet plastic pollution is a waste of that resource that is unneeded or unsustainable. So, the introduction of a trash cleaning robot is inevitable.

The idea of JellyfishBot was created by Carlesi, who is an enthusiastic sailor and diver; after he witnessed how much waste was floating on the water in ports when he was spending leisure time on the water.

Carlesi said:

“I thought: ‘Why not try to make this difficult and sometimes thankless task of picking up trash easier?’ So we made this robot.”

According to Carlesi’s Company, Jellyfishbot is operating at about 15 French ports, exporting to countries such as Singapore, Japan, and Norway. The company just launched an autonomous version.

Nicolas Carlesi, CEO And Founder Of IADYS, states:

“It has the ability to weave in and out everywhere. Why? Because the rubbish remains on the water’s surface and it is pushed by the wind towards small corners, behind boats, so in order to access those places in which almost all the trash is concentrated, we designed this robot to be as compact as possible. It measures 70 centimeters in length, 70 centimeters wide, and it can go everywhere.”

Specification of JellyfishBot:

  • Speed: 2 knots
  • Weight: 18 kg (40 lbs)
  • Autonomy: 6 hours
  • Electric energy
  • Collection of macro-waste: 80L per net
  • Hydrocarbon collection: 30L per net
  • Cleaning area: 1000m² / 1 node
  • Options: battery life, camera, waterproof smartphone

A Unique Marine Waste Collection Robotic Solution

JellyfishBot, manufactured and assembled in France at IADYS (Interactive Autonomous Dynamic Systems), is a unique invention to collect water waste effectively. This ocean cleaning robot is compact and easy to use, which makes it more popular and intriguing. The Jellyfishbot has also demonstrated its worth in several accidental oil spills and is utilized regularly within several industrial locations.

IADYS is a young firm that creates, develops, and promotes innovative products between artificial intelligence and robotic intelligence. In particular, Jellyfishbot is dedicated to preserving the aquatic environment.

Similar Marine Robots

It’s not the only harbor cleaning robot. San Diego’s non-profit Clear Blue Sea developed a proto-type trash-collecting robot named “FRED.”

RanMarine, a marine technology company based in the Netherlands, designed a robot called a ‘Waste Shark’ to clean the litter in Rotterdam harbor.