In many ways, it is the steady march of technological progress that has landed us in our current dire ecological situation. It is therefore normal that science is also the vector of our salvation.
One of the areas most affected by the massive amounts of pollution we produce as a species are the world’s oceans, as we destroy one piece of plastic at a time. Every year we add 12 million tonnes of plastic waste to ocean waters, much of which is invisible to the naked eye. To put this into frightening context, a 2016 World Economic Forum study predicted that by 2050 there would be more plastic by weight in the ocean than fish.
Although a variety of cleaning options have been suggested, from autonomous robots and ocean vacuums to bacteria that naturally eat and decompose plastics, we must first detect and monitor plastics to target them. That’s where this 15-year-old’s innovative bionic sea turtle comes in, which uses AI to detect plastic waste and signs of ecological distress in the ocean waters it surveys.
Technology imitating nature
Evan Budz, originally from Ontario, was struck by a flash of inspiration during a camping trip. The student saw a snapping turtle swimming in the water and was struck by its grace and how little disturbance it caused to its environment as it moved. His observations led him to design a pollution-detecting ocean robot in the mold of the turtle, which he dubbed Bionic Underwater Robot Turtle, or BURT.
BURT was initially designed to detect coral bleaching, the phenomenon by which living corals expel algae when in distress, a common indicator of ecological pressures such as pollution. BURT uses AI-based imaging driven by a camera and a Raspberry Pi system-on-chip (SoC), a credit card-sized computer. Because it swims using fins like those of a sea turtle and not noisier propulsion methods like spinning propellers, it is safer for use in delicate freshwater ecosystems.
BURT has now expanded its mandate to include microplastic detection, and Budz has achieved significant recognition for its work, including numerous awards. He also received a $50,000 grant through the Gordon E. Moore Prize for Positive Outcomes for Future Generations, which recognizes scientific innovations that strive to make “a lasting difference for future generations.”
