Enhancement of the Mobility of the Seabin Project
by Integrating a Sea Drone
Executive Summary
This report is written in response to a letter
of authorization dated xxxxxx, and aims to convince the Seabin Project Team
that the proposed adaptations are of utmost importance in enhancing the
mobility features and adopting a hydroelectric generator for the AI_Whirlpool.
The Seabin has been able to provide practical
and tangible solutions to reduce plastics in our ports and marinas, which is
one of the world-level problems. However, The Seabin functions as a stationary
machine that does not have a self-sufficient power supply as it draws its power
from a 6m cable. This report discusses Seabin V5, which acts as a floating
garbage bin that skims the surface of the water to collect floating, debris,
macro and micro plastics and even micro fibres with an additional filter. This
report also captures the possible areas of improvements based on the
combinations of different concepts as well as the benefits of these
combinations.
Upon researching the Seabin project, we learned
that the team intends to be dynamic by harnessing the knowledge and experience
of the across the world in this particular field of study. In order to further
spread the idea of the project, community activation, education programs, data
collection, scientific research and technology are main factors of
influence.
The proposed modifications for the AI_Whirlpool
area combination of Seabin, water drone and an upgrade of utilizing the
hydroelectric generator. This will vastly improve the rate ocean trash cleaned
up per day and reduce the amount of electricity used per day. Furthermore,
marketing this product will increase the awareness on water pollution and its
world-level threats.
Background
According to the Seabin Project (2019), the
Seabin machine is a floating device that is able to collect up to 50,000
plastic bottles a year It works by moving up and down the tide,sucking up
the floating rubbish like a vacuum cleaner. The main goal of Seabin
technology is to capture all surrounding debris ,remove considerable amounts of
microplastics and prevent the particles from breaking down into smaller pieces
in the sea. The Seabin has the capability of collecting litter up to 3.9kg per
day. Seabin Project (2019) The global project
for Seabin has a total of 719 units with more than 10 based in Sydney. These
units help to collect 2 tons of waste a day.
However, even with such cleaning features, the
Seabin is lacking in its mobility. The current Seabin technology is attached to
a 6m cable, which requires it to be planted in areas that have power sources. Due to the 6m electrical cable, many companies might choose
other clean-up devices such as Jellyfish bot or Manta Trawl. The clean-up
devices are able to collect ocean trash beyond the Seabin’s cleaning perimeters
as they are deployed from a movable boat or they are remotely controlled.
With the added mobility, the Seabin will be
able to operate on different water bodies and it might also serve as a tool to
allow people of all ages to contribute in the cleaning effort. For example, the
children under adult supervision could operate the device as well, leading to a
good learning opportunity. A mobile Seabin could pick up an additional 30%
trash. According to 100 Ocean
Pollution Statistics & Facts (Condor Ferries, n.d.), 15% of ocean trash is
floating and an additional 15% are found on beaches.
By including a hydroelectric generator, Seabin
will obtain a way to self-sustain its energy supply by eco-friendly means. By
making use of the waterflow caused during the cleaning process, the generator
will be remaining turning hence, producing electricity. Electricity produced
via this method can be used to power the Seabin’s pump and also the water
drone, lasting it for as long as it needs to complete its tasking.
A battery will be put in place to serve 2
purposes. Firstly, to jumpstart the water drone before the hydroelectric
generator takes over in supplying the power and secondly, to serve as a
fail-safe to prevent total power failure. In the event where the hydroelectric
generator is unable to sustain the water drone or Seabin’s pump resulting in
the product being stranded out in the open water, it would become bad for the
company as the drone might be lost forever out in the ocean.
Problem statement
Comparing Seabin to Jellyfish bot or Manta Trawl, the 2
mentioned devices are able to travel to the ocean for clean up via remote
control. The Seabin is stationed in ports and
marinas connected to a power source by a 6m electrical cable. Due to the length
of the cable, it lacks mobility. A self-sustaining battery is required to power
the pump for its suction. To address this problem, additional features such as
combining movable drones and hydroelectric
generators should be implemented for sustainability.
Purpose statement
This report is a proposal to the Seabin Team to integrate water
drones, a hydroelectric generator and a reserved battery to give Seabin
mobility.This could make it be viable for a broader range of water bodies as
well as having a self-sustaining means.
Proposed modifications
The current Seabin has a unique suction feature to filter out the
debris and oil waste. By integrating mobility, the Seabin’s performance of the
clean-up process will increase significantly. These integration features will
make the Seabin mobile. Implementing a reserved battery to start up and a
hydroelectric generator will make the Seabin self-sustaining for its energy.
Water drone
First key enhancement to the seabin is attaching a water drone
onto it. The marine drone that we selected for the modification is the
Jellyfish-bot. Due to its structure of the design which we intended to place
the bin under the water drone itself and it is also an ocean clean-up effort
device that is used in the marinas. Due to the possibility of it being lost in
the sea a GPS tracking device is essential to be equipped on it. Refer to
figure 1 on the water drone.
Figure 1. “An innovative robotic
solution for collecting marine waste” by IADYS (n.d.)
Reserved battery
Another enhancement to the seabin is to add a reserved battery
onto the water drone and Seabin, allowing it to jump start the water drone and
Seabin and to prevent total power failure. See Figure 2 for .
Hydroelectric Generator
Keeping the energy-level of the Seabin self-sustainable is the
additional feature of a hydroelectric generator. (Refer to figure 2 on the
hydroelectric generator). It generates electricity through energy conversion by
utilising the flow of water. Electricity generated will be used to charge the
battery, which runs both the suction of the seabin and the water drone. This
gives the device the ability to self-sustain. Furthermore, Seabin with these
attachments can be considered eco-friendly as it uses natural resources to
generate its own electricity.
Figure 2
Design
The Seabin V5 will be positioned under the centre of the water
drone (Jellyfish bot) for its stability. Hydroelectric generators will be
attached to the bottom of Seabin so that when the water drone moves, the strong
current will spin the turbines that are connected to the hydroelectric
generator that will then generate power to the batteries of our water
drone.
Functionality
The AI_Whirlpool is either being controlled by a controller or
auto-pathing. When it starts to move around the water bodies, the hydroelectric
generator starts to generate electricity to power the suction of the seabin as
well as charge the reserve battery used to support the drone and seabin
suction.
Benefits
The efficiency of the current seabin product will be greatly
increased. Instead of using it at a stationary position, it could move around
to do clean up. Hence, there will no longer be a need for more stationary
seabin to be planted near the marinas/port as this AI_whirlpool can be used to
move around and clean the debris around it. In addition, AI_whirlpool is a
self-sustaining product with the added hydroelectric generator which is able to
generate electric energy by energy conversion.
Evaluation
Despite all the benefits of adding a drone, hydroelectric
generator and a reserved batteries, the team continues to foresee some
challenges
The additional water drone, hydroelectric generator and reserved
batteries will increase the cost of production. It also requires the design
team to remodel its product so that it will be able to integrate these features
together. However, this will further increase its cost. The increase in the
cost of production will increase the retail price of the AI_Whirlpool, which
increases the chances of losing in the price competition against its
competitors. Furthermore, the increase of the integration will lead to a
heavier device and reduction in how much payload it can support. As a heavier
load requires more generators for power and more generators required results in
heavier load, this leads to a vicious endless cycle.
Since water drones are an existing product in the market, minor
modification will be required to be combined with the Seabin. The reserved
battery would not be considered as a heavy load as its sole purpose is to act
as an emergency source to water drones. According to the Seabin Project (2020),
Seabin has currently raised up to $1.35 million and 1249 members of the
community have invested in Seabin Projects. Furthermore, Both Seabin and
Jellyfish bot can be purchased from a local Singapore company “Asiatique Yacht
Supplies”.
Concluding statement
In conclusion, the combination of the Jellyfish bot and the
adaptation of the hydroelectric generator should be implemented to make Seabin
V5 a mobile and self-sustaining device. These modifications allows Seabin V5 to
have a sustained period of usage and move around the water with ease. If the
Seabin implements these modifications on the Seabin V5, This will allow the
Seabin to become the ideal water-cleanup machine that swiftly cleans up the
water from one zone to another. This modification will also ensure that
AI_Whirlpool will be the Sea-cleaner of choice for the users.
References
Sydney Wharf Embraces Seabin Technology. (2019,
October 8). Retrieved 2 March 2020 from, https://seabinproject.com/sydney-wharf-embraces-seabin-technology/
CondorFerries. (n.d.). 100 Ocean Pollution Statistics &
Facts (2020). Retrieved March 2, 2020, from https://www.condorferries.co.uk/marine-ocean-pollution-statistics-facts
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