Sometimes inspiration can come from the unlikeliest of sources. In the case of the Hong Kong-based autonomous boat startup Clearbot, it was a trip to Bali, where its founders saw the extent of the plastic pollution crisis first hand…

When they returned to Hong Kong, they did some more research into the issue and discovered many programs to clear up the local shoreline relied on petrol and diesel-powered boats, which were creating more pollution in the first place.

So, they decided to build an unmanned, battery-powered boat that could collect plastic waste on the shoreline or in waterways.

The batteries are charged via solar panels at the on-land docking station and the boat can either be set to run autonomously or guided by remote operator…

The boats are also fitted with cameras at the front, which Gupta added can help scan the types of waste being collected in order to collect better data around the types of waste that end up in the water.