Styrofoam no match for Hong Kong robot that collects marine rubbish
PolyU engineers invented Galatea the robot after Sai Kung club sought help to solve marine trash problem
Hong Kong’s Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club faced an uphill battle for years, as it tried to clean up the marine debris that washed ashore at its waterfront location in Sai Kung.
Workers had a never-ending task of gathering seaweed, large baskets and plastic. But the hardest to retrieve was styrofoam junk, because the material could disintegrate into tiny bits.
Now, a robot cleaner named Galatea, is proving to be a big help.
The robot, developed by Polytechnic University (PolyU) engineers, targets minuscule plastic waste.
Club chairman Jack Wong Wai-kwong said: “It has helped us save about two workers for debris clean-up. It was extremely difficult to collect small items such as styrofoam, and the robot was invented to solve the problem.”
The club turned to Chan Luen-chow, a research professor at PolyU, at the department of industrial and systems engineering, for help.