AI-enabled robotic trash boat to clean Gomti river in Lucknow

The cleaning of the Gomti river and clearing of water hyacinth will now be done by an artificial intelligence (AI) enabled robotic trash boat.

With the introduction of this boat, another new chapter is going to be added to the initiative to make rivers clean.

To take out the micro waste along with the common waste, a boat has been made which will dump two quintals of waste out of the river every hour without pollution.

The boat, developed by the experts of the Centre For Innovation Policy and Social Change (CIPSC), is now undergoing a trial run at the Laxman Mela Ghat on the Gomti.

Director, CIPSC, Karishma Sabharwal, said: "The trials are being conducted after several months of research. It will be given to the municipal corporation as soon as the 30-day trial is completed.

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"The small mesh in the robotic trash boat can take out even the smallest of river waste. The boat can clean any kind of garbage from polythene to hyacinth."

The boat can be controlled by a person sitting on the bank of the river through a remote. The sensor installed in it automatically brings the boat to the shore after two quintals of waste is collected.

She said if three to four boats are deployed from Pucca Pul in the old city to Nishatganj bridge, the Gomti in the city will look clean.

The self-propelled robotic boat made with advanced technology is a zero-carbon immersion boat fully powered by solar panels.

The boat has a front facing camera which automatically detects the plastic, hyacinth and other waste lying in the water and collects it.

The waste is collected in the rear storage through the conveyor belt in the boat.

At present, the storage capacity is 200 kg.

Divisional Commissioner Roshan Jacob has directed to improve the load bearing capacity of boat up to 1,000 kg.