These robot boats are cleaning up Asia's waterways

In a marina in Hong Kong, a startup called Clearbot has developed autonomous, solar-powered boats to clean up plastic waste in the water. The boat, resembling a Pac-Man, consumes waste floating on the surface and deposits it in a collection basket. It can collect 80 kilograms (176 pounds) of waste per hour and carry 200 kilograms (441 pounds) on board. The company is operating about a dozen boats across Hong Kong, Thailand, and India. Clearbot’s boats can be guided remotely or set to run autonomously with algorithms that navigate obstacles and analyze the waste collected. These boats also have the potential to perform various other tasks such as clearing algae, removing invasive species, and testing water quality. Clearbot plans to scale up and have 20 boats deployed by March 2025.