Trash is often times found in, and nearby, bodies of water which only poses a threat to the surrounding wildlife, marine life, community members and the overall environment. Every body of water is important as it sustains the ecosystems, which is why it’s crucial there becomes a solution to combat this issue.
Six students from Arizona State University will participate in the Environmental Competition by EPICS in IEEE, in partnership with the UEF, to design a solution for the environment. They established Project Lake Litter Solutions, which focuses on building a robot with the ability to skim a body of water and collect trash before it sinks to the bottom.
The project is divided into multiple phases, with a focus on inventing two different prototypes and then reviewing each design to assess what is worth including in the final. The student team will use rapid prototyping equipment from their university, and with the help of their community partner, they have access to a body of water to test each design.
EPICS in IEEE has granted them $7,456 to purchase any materials needed to continue this project. The team is composed of students from their Arizona State University EPICS group and they will be receiving help from the City of Tempe with the hope of expanding this solution to other communities in Phoenix, AZ.