TechTics, a Dutch company specialised in the field of AI, Robotics and Mixed Reality, wants to achieve cleaner beaches. The startup developed the BeachBot, a robot that is capable of detecting and cleaning up litter. In Project BeachBot, TechTics will be mapping the litter on Dutch beaches and investigate the possibilities of monitoring robots from a remote distance, using Do IoT Fieldlab’s 5G facility.
Duration
From April 2022 to March 2023
Partners (TU Delft)
TU Delft, RoboHousePartners (other)
With the increase of maritime shipping, the risk of cargo loss increases. If this results in major pollution of the beaches, it is essential to be able to measure this properly in order to identify it quickly. In addition, litter caused by people remains a worldwide problem. Techtics wants to help environmental organisations and municipalities cleaning up and informing the public.
The project focuses on the first of three activities:
- Mapping litter on Dutch beaches. This will give policymakers, producers and environmental organisations better insight into the numbers, diversity and origin of litter.
- Involving consumers in making robots smarter and thus creating awareness of the need to tackle litter, with a unique human-robot interaction.
- Development and deployment of autonomous beach litter robots to clean up small litter.
Ultra Low Latency is essential to enable remote observation and operation. Therefore the objective is to make use of the BeachBot possible with a very small delay (5 ms instead of 50 ms). TechTics will explore the preconditions necessary for the effective functioning of the robot and the user-friendliness of remote controlling it. Within this research project they will target the requirements for the controller in order to get those commands to the robot arm and gripper with minimum delay. Also, the necessary latency for the hardware glasses and beyond direct line-of-sight communication will be scrutinised in order to display exactly the right images at the right time. Moreover, different programmes will be run with the user to investigate what it means to see remotely. Other focus points will be on exploring other functions of the Bot. It is important that the research can be substantiated scientifically, with an eye for the right way of measuring and reporting (logging) in order to make the results interchangeable.
The opportunity to use Do IoT Fieldlab’s 5G facility at Unmanned Valley will enable TechTics to test testing speed, bandwidth and response time. Also, it will enable them to explore their technology’s possibilities and to consult with experts at TU Delft Campus. The test results will be valuable for the Do IoT Fieldlab and its partners.
Related websites: https://project.bb/ https://techtics.team
This project is enabled by the Kansen voor West programme (aimed at promoting the competitiveness of the Dutch Western region).