Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Development of Garbage Collecting Robot for Marine Microplastics

This paper describes the design of a robot intended to collect microplastics from beaches, addressing the practical challenge that hand collection of scattered, tiny plastic particles is impractical at scale. Laboratory experiments characterized how sand behaves under the robot's excavation mechanism, providing engineering data for building autonomous marine microplastic cleanup devices.

2024 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Development of Garbage Collecting Robot for Marine Microplastics

Researchers developed a garbage-collecting robot designed to remove plastic debris from coastal areas before it degrades into microplastics, addressing the logistical challenge of cleaning extensive shorelines with minimal human labor and resources.

2025 The Proceedings of JSME annual Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (Robomec)
Article Tier 2

Automatic Beach Cleaning Robot

Researchers designed a portable automatic beach cleaning robot for collecting plastic debris from sandy beaches to reduce marine pollution and protect aquatic ecosystems.

2023 INTERANTIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT
Article Tier 2

A novel autonomous microplastics surveying robot for beach environments

Researchers developed a novel autonomous robotic platform for detecting and chemically analyzing microplastics on beach surfaces, using a camera mounted on a robotic arm end effector to scan areas and identify particles smaller than 5 mm. The mobile manipulator system automatically locates and chemically characterizes microplastics in situ, addressing the challenge of large-scale environmental monitoring in coastal environments.

2025 ArXiv.org
Article Tier 2

Design and Development of Smart Beach Debris Collection and Segregation System

Researchers designed and built a smart automated system for collecting and segregating beach debris, using sensors and robotics to identify and sort plastic waste from natural material on shorelines. The system demonstrated effective separation of plastic debris in field tests.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Beach Cleaning Robots a Comprehensive Survey of Technologies Challenges, and Future Directions

This paper is not relevant to microplastics; it is a survey of robotic technologies and methodologies for automated beach cleaning and litter removal.

2023 International Research Journal of Modernization in Engineering Technology and Science 1 citations
Article Tier 2

A Spiral-Propulsion Amphibious Intelligent Robot for Land Garbage Cleaning and Sea Garbage Cleaning

Not relevant to microplastics research; this paper presents the design and testing of an amphibious robot capable of collecting garbage from beaches, tidal flats, and the ocean surface, but does not analyze microplastic pollution specifically.

2023 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Improvement and Empirical Testing of a Novel Autonomous Microplastics-Collecting Semisubmersible

Researchers improved an autonomous microplastic-collecting robot, testing design modifications that enhanced sampling efficiency and navigation in surface water environments, moving toward practical automated monitoring of plastic pollution.

2024 arXiv (Cornell University)
Article Tier 2

Autonomous Beach Cleaner Robot: A Mechatronic and Control Approach for Sustainable Coastal Pollution Management at Peru

Researchers designed an autonomous solar-powered beach cleaning robot for Peru that uses ultrasonic sensors and a sieving mechanism to detect and collect microplastics and other coastal debris, following a V-model design methodology.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Towards Accessible Aquatic Cleanup: A Low-Cost Solution for Floating Waste Extraction

Researchers designed and tested a low-cost autonomous floating waste extractor using a conveyor mechanism to capture lightweight surface pollutants including microplastics, demonstrating high efficiency in capturing debris and offering an affordable solution for resource-constrained settings.

2025 SciEn Conference Series Engineering
Article Tier 2

Robotic Vacuum Cleaner for Microplastics

Researchers developed a robotic device capable of vacuuming up tiny plastic particles floating on the surface of water bodies, offering a new tool for cleaning up microplastic pollution in lakes, ponds, or coastal areas. The device represents a step toward automated, scalable approaches for removing microplastics from aquatic environments.

2025 Physics
Article Tier 2

Marine Sediment Sampling With an Underwater Legged Robot: A User-Driven Sampling Approach for Microplastic Analysis

Researchers developed a novel marine sediment sampling system using an underwater legged robot designed specifically for microplastic assessment studies. The system was built to meet the requirements of marine biologists, allowing precise sediment collection at controlled depths with minimal disturbance, enabling more reliable and repeatable microplastic sampling in underwater environments.

2024 IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Particle Swarm Optimization Based Efficient Path Planning in Autonomous Marine Trash Collection

Researchers developed a marine trash-collecting robot guided by Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and GPS, which uses a conveyor-based collection mechanism and sensor input to navigate waterways and efficiently collect floating plastic debris.

2025 International Journal of Enhanced Research In Science Technology & Engineering
Article Tier 2

Trash Collection Gadget: A Multi-Purpose Design of Interactive and Portable Solution for Beach Cleanup

This study designed and prototyped a playful robotic cleanup system with three components intended to collect beach litter while engaging families and children during visits. The device was conceived as an interactive educational tool that makes beach cleanup accessible and enjoyable for the public.

2024 E3S Web of Conferences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

How to Deal With Seafloor Marine Litter: An Overview of the State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives

This review examined the state of the art for detecting and removing marine litter from the seafloor, finding that while surface and beach litter has received substantial attention, seafloor litter remains understudied and that emerging technologies including underwater robotics offer promising future cleanup pathways.

2020 Frontiers in Marine Science 106 citations
Article Tier 2

Bio-Inspired Marine Waste Collection System with Adaptive Suction Mechanism: Energy Optimization through Intelligent Waste Dimension Recognition

Researchers designed an autonomous marine waste collection robot inspired by fish feeding biomechanics, integrating AI navigation, renewable energy, and an adaptive suction mechanism for capturing plastic debris. The dual-chamber vacuum system demonstrated energy-efficient marine debris collection, representing a bioinspired approach to ocean plastic remediation.

2025 Preprints.org
Article Tier 2

Prototipo automático para la recolección de residuos flotantes y limpieza de un río utilizando una cinta transportadora

This engineering project describes the design and development of a robotic floating waste collector for the Bogotá and Magdalena rivers in Colombia, using a conveyor belt system to remove solid waste from the water surface. While the robot targets plastic and solid waste collection, the paper does not directly address microplastic research.

2023 Encuentro Internacional de Educación en Ingeniería
Article Tier 2

Unmanned Vehicles System Utilizing Waste Tracking Data to Tackle Plastic Marine Littering on Tourist Islands

This paper proposes using unmanned vehicles guided by waste tracking data to collect plastic marine litter around tourist islands. Autonomous cleanup technology could help remove plastic debris before it breaks down into microplastics and enters the food chain.

2021 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Nano/Microplastics Capture and Degradation by Autonomous Nano/Microrobots: A Perspective

This perspective article explores how tiny self-propelled nano- and microrobots could be used to capture and break down microplastic and nanoplastic particles in water. Researchers reviewed recent advances showing these autonomous robots can efficiently collect plastic particles through enhanced physical interactions as they move through contaminated water. The technology represents a promising but still early-stage approach to actively cleaning up plastic pollution at scales too small for conventional methods.

2022 Advanced Functional Materials 98 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro/nanorobots for efficient removal and degradation of micro/nanoplastics

This paper reviews how tiny self-propelled robots at the micro and nanoscale could be used to capture and remove microplastics from water. These robots can be designed to target specific types of plastic particles and move through water on their own, offering advantages over traditional filtration methods. While still in early development, this technology could eventually provide a practical way to reduce microplastic contamination in drinking water and aquatic environments.

2023 Cell Reports Physical Science 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Artificial intelligence-empowered collection and characterization of microplastics: A review

This review examines how artificial intelligence tools like robots and machine learning are being used to collect, identify, and characterize microplastic pollution more efficiently. Better detection technology matters for human health because accurately measuring microplastic contamination in water and soil is the first step toward understanding and reducing our exposure.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigating the evolution of the technologies for collecting microplastics

This review investigates the evolution of technologies designed for collecting microplastics from the environment, comparing collection methods across a range of systems to identify the most suitable approaches and guide future technology development.

2022 Journal of Environmental Management 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Autonomous detection and sorting of litter using deep learning and soft robotic grippers

Researchers developed LitterBot, an autonomous robotic system that uses deep learning-based object detection and segmentation to identify, localize, and classify common roadside litter, and pairs this with soft robotic grippers to automate the collection process, addressing the labor-intensive and hazardous nature of roadside litter picking.

2022 Frontiers in Robotics and AI 13 citations
Article Tier 2

A Novel Multi-Robot Task Allocation Model in Marine Plastics Cleaning Based on Replicator Dynamics

This paper proposes an algorithm for coordinating multiple autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to clean up marine plastic pollution more efficiently. Better robotic systems for ocean plastic collection could help address the vast amounts of plastic debris accumulating in marine environments.

2021 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 13 citations