Autonomous robots that eat algae blooms tested on Lake O
CLEWISTON— Solaris Cybernetics, a leader in robotics and machine intelligence, has begun it’s C3 Project in Florida. With the assistance of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Mote Maritime Laboratories, the company has developed a program to deploy an autonomous robot that consumes toxic algae blooms and converts it into paraffin, a compound similar to beeswax. The sale of paraffin more than pays for the robots, thus allowing continuous ‘grooming’ of any body of water subject to algae blooms.
“The cost of cleaning algae blooms is replaced by a new source of income instead," explained company president Rudolph Behrens.
These use an improved version of the artificial intelligence called the Ariel Lens, a device that can "see' an algae bloom as it is forming, hours or days before it is visible to the naked eye. The exact method is proprietary and patents are applied for or issued.