Students made underwater robot that cleans the seabed
Their award with the « Technology Pioneer » Award at Junior Achievement’s Athens Student Trade Exhibition was a first reward for their hard work, as we were told. The students of the Vocational High School (EPAL) Alimos developed the Greek Seabot, an innovative submarine submarine robot that aims to protect the marine environment. With Yiannis Fola, Alexandros Kritharoula, Yiannis Pelekanos, Jacob Sachinidis and Thanassis Theodorou we met at their school. The robot was « absent » – as they explained to us, they have disassembled and prepare his most sophisticated version of the final phase of the Greek JA competition on May 7.
The idea was born when looking for a virtual business they realized that for Greece surrounded by sea it would be ideal for a robot that would keep our seabed clean. « Our value as a business, » they say « is that we protect the environment and the ecosystem but also the occupations related to the sea, such as tourism and fishing. » To do so, three areas have collaborated: Engineering, Informatics and Economics, Greek Seabot combines robotic, environmental technology and artificial intelligence.
Result: A 50cm « robot » made of durable PVC pipe withstands pressure of up to 7 bar and can work effectively at depths of up to 70 meters. In short, their underwater robot sinks, maps the seabed and has the ability to clean the trash.
There is nothing similar in Greece, while competitors from abroad, as the market research has shown, have the disadvantage of increased costs and complex operations. Complete control at 6 degrees of freedom, through 6 high -performance motors, ensures the Greek Seabot accurate movements, while the 100 -meter wired remote control provides absolute stability and safety to underwater missions.
In its next version, which is now being prepared, the Seabot will be able to reach a greater depth (100 m), will have more motors, movement on all 6 axes, while the planned integration of artificial intelligence technologies and machine vision will allow autonomous detection and elimination. Their potential customers are private, coastal municipalities and hotels – and not only. As we were told, they discussed their project with Alimos hotels with positive reactions.
The fact that there is nothing in Greece in Greece can be trumpet but it also gave birth to difficulties. Some components, for example, did not exist, so they were forced to design and order them abroad – which meant more cost and time. We are characterized by a board, which, after designed, ordered in China. « It was a challenge, » they say about their creation, « and we got to a satisfactory result. » With great effort and time. « From January to March (where the exhibition took place) we came to school from 8am, we left at noon, without even going to breaks, going to a house and working until 10 in the evening – we worked some nights until 5 in the morning. »
The care for the environment is reflected not only in the ecological materials from which the Seabot is made but also in its promotion. Instead of a brochure they have made NFC cards, thus preventing the waste of paper. They also have a website (Greek-seabot.web.app) and social networks.
