Innovative Waterborne Garbage Cleaning Robot

Prototype Principle

Defense

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With the acceleration of China’s modernization process, the amount of garbage has increased significantly, especially various floating garbage on the water, which is prone to rot and smell, making timely cleaning difficult. This is a tough nut to crack in the field of water environmental protection. Currently, garbage cleaning in China mainly relies on manual retrieval, which has drawbacks such as a small operational radius, difficulty in garbage collection, time-consuming, labor-intensive, and significant safety hazards. Most foreign water garbage cleaning equipment is bulky, expensive, and high maintenance costs, making direct introduction and promotion difficult. China has vast river channels and coastal waters, and the volume of waterborne garbage cleaning work is enormous, hence there is an urgent need for self-developed economical specialized equipment to achieve automatic cleaning of waterborne garbage. Based on the above background, our team applied PVC materials to design a catamaran-type waterborne garbage cleaning robot, highlighting the advantages of stability and flexibility; the robot’s control core is self-designed to ensure simple, flexible, and efficient operation. The completed robot can autonomously cruise and clean waterborne garbage in a certain area, and can also utilize solar energy for recharging in non-working environments, ensuring long endurance and being energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.

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The cleaning mechanism of the waterborne garbage cleaning robot mainly consists of a garbage collection net and a net chamber door. Before garbage collection, the waterborne garbage cleaning robot uses a camera to locate the cleaning target. Once the target is detected, the underwater propeller starts working to drive the robot to the target. When nearing the cleaning target, the waterborne garbage cleaning robot will automatically open the net chamber door and continue toward the cleaning target, allowing the target to fall into the net, at which point the chamber door closes.

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1. Utilizing Solar Energy for Energy Efficiency

The waterborne garbage cleaning robot mainly uses a 50W solar photovoltaic panel for power supply. The solar photovoltaic panel charges an 11.1V battery when the robot is in a non-working state, and during working state, the battery supplies power for the robot’s operation. The power supply system is equipped with a solar current controller to extend the battery life. We have adopted high-efficiency battery cells with widened chips, which perform well under low light and have a photoelectric conversion rate of up to 21%. Based on multiple experiments, it has been proven that under normal sunlight, the solar photovoltaic panel can fully charge a 2500mAh LiPo battery in about 6 hours. In other words, the waterborne garbage cleaning robot can operate for 30 minutes with 6 hours of sunlight exposure in a non-working state.

2. Utilizing Catamaran Design for Stable Operation

The waterborne garbage cleaning robot features a small water surface catamaran design. The central space between the two hulls can store up to 100L of floating garbage, increasing the utilization of the garbage collection device’s space. Additionally, the underwater propeller is installed at the tail of the submerged body, allowing for uniform flow in the working area, resulting in high propulsion efficiency. When navigating in waves, the robot exhibits good wave resistance and lateral stability, making it easy to operate in water. Furthermore, the spacious deck area facilitates the arrangement of solar photovoltaic panels and other equipment, enhancing the overall aesthetics of the waterborne garbage cleaning robot.

3. Utilizing Garbage Collection Net for Flexible Assembly

The garbage collection device of the waterborne garbage cleaning robot is primarily a net. During the cleaning process, floating garbage is stored in the net. The net’s mechanical structure is simple and easy to operate. During actual water operations, when the garbage in the net reaches its capacity limit, the waterborne garbage cleaning robot can reliably return to shore to replace the net, greatly reducing garbage processing time and improving cleaning efficiency.

4. Utilizing Algorithms for Intelligent Operation

The waterborne garbage cleaning robot operates in two modes: one is autonomous control in simple environments, and the other is manual control in complex environments. When the water surface has a high density of garbage, the AT9s remote control can be used to switch to autonomous mode, allowing the robot to perform large-scale garbage cleaning based on path planning and image recognition. In cases of complex environments with dense obstacles or proximity to human activities, manual mode can be switched, utilizing the AT9s remote control and transmission equipment for first-person perspective cleaning operations.

5. Using PVC Panels to Reduce Costs and Enhance Control Flexibility

The main body of the waterborne cleaning robot is made from rigid PVC panels. PVC panels are made from PVC and have a honeycomb structure, providing excellent chemical stability and corrosion resistance, along with high hardness, strength, aging resistance, fire retardance, reliable insulation, smooth surface, water resistance, and ease of processing. The high hardness and strength characteristics provide stability to the robot’s mechanical structure, while the water resistance and smooth surface reduce resistance during water navigation. PVC panels are low-cost and easy to process, making robot manufacturing convenient and cost-effective for promotion and application.

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1. Power Propulsion Module

The propulsion device of the waterborne garbage cleaning robot uses a pair of 600W underwater propellers, producing a thrust of 5kg. The propeller blades are made of PC resin material, which is durable and not prone to brittleness. Each propeller weighs 290g and features a nylon shell and aluminum cover for excellent waterproofing and corrosion resistance. The propulsion system employs a three-phase brushless motor for stepless speed adjustment, making the robot’s water surface operations flexible. Multiple water surface turning experiments indicate that the robot has a turning radius of about 1 meter, demonstrating excellent maneuverability compared to water surface cleaning vessels.

2. Remote Control Module

The waterborne garbage cleaning robot is remotely controlled via a ground station AT9s remote control. The robot is equipped with an R9DS receiver that receives signals for remote control. The AT9s operates on a 2.4GHz ISM band, with a remote control range of 3400 meters, achieving a maximum output stability of 1.84 microseconds and a conventional jitter of 0.5 microseconds, ensuring high control precision. The R9DS 2.4G receiver uses DSSS and FHSS dual spread spectrum anti-jamming technology, supporting two signal modes: PWM and SBUS. This robot utilizes PWM signal mode, outputting 9 standard PWM signals, allowing for easy expansion of the robot’s other special functions.

3. Image Transmission Module

The waterborne garbage cleaning robot transmits images of the cleaning operation in real-time through an image transmission module. This module consists of a TS832 transmitter, a 4K action camera, and an integrated display screen for receiving. The camera features a 6-axis gyroscope for stabilization, with 12 million pixels, and can take photos or record videos remotely using the AT9s remote control, ensuring stable and clear image capture during water operations. The TS832 transmitter operates at a frequency of 5.8GHz with a transmission power of 600MW, transmitting images captured by the 4K action camera to the ground station’s integrated display screen for monitoring the waterborne garbage cleaning robot’s operations.

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The control system of the waterborne garbage cleaning robot is based on the Arduino UNO development board, which is based on the ATmega328P microcontroller. Programming is done using the Arduino IDE.

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