Alarmed by the 'island-sized' patch of garbage in the Pacific ocean, French Industrial Design student Elie Ahovie has created a 'Marine Drone' concept with a team of collaborators that utilises an unmanned drone design to collect debris and clean the world's oceans.
Taking inspiration from the automatic 'Roomba' household vaccuum robots, the Marine Drone is designed to operate underwater and patrol the oceans autonomously, capturing plastic bottles and garbage like a butterfly net. Powered by water-proof batteries, the Drone would employ an electric motor to move silently through the water.
The Drone would also come equipped with a 'sonic emitter', which would send out an irritating signal to deter aquatic life, ensuring that only trash goes into the net. When the machine's collection area is full of junk, the Drone would dock with a nearby mothership, where a crew would crane the garbage up for disposal.
Sources: Elie Ahovi, Core77