RANMARINE - WASTE SHARK

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WASTE SHARK: Is a useful adaptation of the technology that is used by autonomous domestic vacuum cleaners to navigate around rooms while cleaning carpets, also used by the Google car for transport and collision avoidance. With some adaptation for marine use we feel that this smart little catamaran (drone) will be even smarter and able to clean harbours by collecting waste and then docking to empty itself. What a great idea.

The Waste Shark from Ranmarine is a drone that autonomously navigates harbours to collect waste, then navigates back to a docking station for emptying. The collection and the navigation is not yet autonomous, piloting is controlled by a person on the dockside. There are plans to make this function autonomous. We like the launch and recovery mechanism. Our AmphiMax is designed to do much the same, only on a much larger scale.

The WasteShark is an aquadrone that removes plastics and other floating debris from the water surface. It was designed especially for use in ports and harbors. Shaped like a catamaran, WasteShark can collect up to 350 kg of trash at a time. The electrically propelled drone produces zero carbon emissions and is compact and agile. RanMarine Technology, a dutch start-up, developed the design and prototype through a start-up accelerator programme for port innovators in Rotterdam.

DFKI RIC supports RanMarine Technology and EIT Digital partner Nobleo Technology (both from the Netherlands) in the development of an autonomous docking system for the WasteShark within the framework of the EIT funded activity “Autonomous Harbour Cleaning”. The algorithms supplied by DFKI will enable the drone to find it’s way back from the harbour basin to a docking station, where it can deposit the collected trash and re-charge it’s batteries. The autonomous docking capability is an important improvement of the current system and a significant step forward towards a marketable product.

Duration: 01.01.2018 till 31.12.2018
Donee: DFKI GmbH & Nobleo Technology
Sponsor: European Union
Grant number: Funded by EIT Digital (Activity number 18181)
Partner: Nobleo Technology,
RanMarine Technology
Team: Team VIII - Knowledge-based long-term Autonomy
Application Field: Underwater Robotics 

PROJECT DETAILS

The WasteShark is an aquadrone that removes plastics and other floating debris from the water surface. It was designed especially for use in ports and harbors. Shaped like a catamaran, WasteShark can collect up to 350 kg of trash at a time. The electrically propelled drone produces zero carbon emissions and is compact and agile. RanMarine Technology developed the design and prototype through a start-up accelerator programme for port innovators in Rotterdam. 

DFKI RIC supports RanMarine Technology and Nobleo Technology (both from the Netherlands) in the development of an autonomous docking system for the WasteShark within the framework of the EIT funded activity “Autonomous Harbour Cleaning”. 

The algorithms supplied by DFKI will enable the drone to find it’s way back from the harbour basin to a docking station, where it can deposit the collected trash and re-charge it’s batteries.

ROBOT SPECIFICATIONS

The WasteShark aquadrone has the following technical specifications (source: RanMarine Technology)

dimension: 190 cm x 140 cm x 45 cm 
weight: 39 kg unloaded
carrying capacity: 550 litres ~ 350kg
power source: battery
thrust: 5.1 kgf (forward), 4.1 kgf (reverse) @ 16V
on-board sensors: camera, lidar (laser range finder), depth sounder, temperature sensor
water quality sensors (optional): pH, ORP, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, ammonium, chloride, nitrate, salinity, mV, ORP, TDS, Resistivity 
capabilities: 16 hours a day waste collection and/or data collection & transmission
waste type: plastics, micro-plastics, alien vegetation (e.g. duckweed), floating debris
operation area: semi-confined water surfaces with ship traffic (e.g. ports, canals)
steering control: remote control (currently) or autonomous (future)

PHOTO GALLERY

AUTONOMOUS AND ECO-FRIENDLY

The autonomous docking capability is an important improvement of the current system and a significant step forward towards a marketable product. 

The capability to autonomously return to the docking- and recharging station, once the maximum load capacity is reached, will be implemented in 2018 with algorithms for autonomous path-planning and optical recognition of the docking station entry. The solution is first tested in simulation and then transferred to the WasteShark prototype developed by RanMarine Technology. The prototype is tested in the DFKI Maritime Testing Facility and in port environments in Bremen and Rotterdam. 

The final result of the WasteShark development (to be funded by a follow-on activity) will be a system that operates fully autonomous and is able to optimize operation by taking into account the observed and predicted distribution of waste in any port basin.

RANMARINE CONTACTS

Sales and support: sales@ranmarine.io
All other enquiries: info@ranmarine.io

Tel: +31 64 169 7268, +27 84 788 2295

German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence
DFKI Bremen
Robotics Innovation Center
Robert-Hooke-Straße 1
D-28359 Bremen

Phone: +49 (0) 421 178 45 - 4100 (Secretary / Administration DFKI HB)
Fax: +49 (0) 421 178 45 - 4150
E-Mail: robotik@dfki.de

Team corporate communications
Swantje Schmidt
Phone: +49 (0) 421 178 45 - 4121
E-Mail: uk-hb@dfki.de 

LINKS & REFERENCE

https://www.ranmarine.io/

https://twitter.com/RanMarineTech

https://robotik.dfki-bremen.de/en/research/projects/wasteshark-1.html

http://www.theoffshorepartners.com/

https://www.oceanphoenixproject.com/mission

 This website is provided on a free basis as a public information service. copyright © Cleaner Oceans Foundation Ltd (COFL) (Company No: 4674774) 2018. Solar Studios, BN271RF, United Kingdom. COFL is a charity without share capital. The names AmphiMax™, RiverVax™ and SeaVax™ are trade  names used under license by COF in connection with their 'Feed The World' ocean cleaning sustainability campaign.