Razer in a partnered with marine waste cleaning startup ClearBot is to advance the use of AI and robotics to lessen ocean pollution.
The pair announced their partnership in parallel to the celebration of World Oceans Day and the initiative is a part of Razer’s 10-year #GoGreenWithRazer campaign that will make substantial green investments to assist environment- and sustainability-focused startups.
Patricia Liu, Chief of Staff at Razer, said, “We are extremely happy to have the opportunity to work with a startup focused on saving the environment.
ClearBot’s unique AI and advanced machine learning technology will enable and empower governments and organisations around the world to broaden their sustainability efforts.
We urge other innovative startups to reach out to Razer for collaboration opportunities as we strive to make the world a safer place for future generations.”
It is estimated that around eight million metric tons of plastic is dumped into the oceans each year. This volume of plastic is about 17.6 billion pounds worth—or the equivalent of 57,000 blue whales.
As these plastics break into smaller pieces, particles owing to wave action and sun exposure, these microplastics also would end up in food chain besides releasing chemicals that further contaminate the sea and endanger marine life.
Hypoxic ‘dead’ zones
Hypoxic ‘dead’ zones are areas of such low oxygen concentration that animal life suffocates and dies – are on the rise. In 2004, scientists concluded that there are 146 such hypoxic zones. By 2008, that number had gone up to 405. In 2017, scientists noticed a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico comparable to the size of New Jersey.
The team behind ClearBot design robots that leverage AI-powered computer vision to identify marine waste and retrieve it would also be responsible for disposing them.
Sidhant Gupta, Chief Executive Officer at ClearBot, said, “The Razer team’s action-oriented approach to solving marine waste issues was extremely eye-opening. We are grateful to the team who volunteered their time for this project.
With the new model, we’re confident in extending our reach globally to protect marine waters, starting with partners which include marine harbour operators in Asia and NGOs who have already expressed interest.
Together with Razer, we look forward to effecting positive change for the world.”
ClearBot is urging the community to upload photos of marine plastic waste commonly found in open waters to their website that will be used to help improve the robot’s waste-detection AI algorithm.
Ocean pollution is a worldwide phenomenon that would affect not only the health of the population cross the Commonwealth of Nations, but also the long-term wellbeing of nations and the people who depend on marine life for their livelihood in particular.
