Smart FisH
Plastics are one of the most popular raw materials for producing daily goods due to their low cost and high durability. Every year, 11 million metric tons of plastics enter our ocean on top of the estimated 200 million metric tons that currently circulate our marine environments (Ocean Conservancy). These large pieces of plastics will be degraded into microplastics, which is defined as plastics fragments with diameter smaller than 5 mm, by UV radiation, mechanical waves and oxidation. Scientists are concerned about microplastics as they are found to pose negative impacts on the health of marine organisms.
Smart fish prototype.
Microplastics found in environmental samples
Microplastics visualized under UV illumination
Conventional approaches of microplastics detection and characterization are costly, time consuming and labor-intensive. Due to different sampling method, their results are quite diversified and have low value for comparison. Our objectives are to 1) design and develop a robotic fish for real-time detection and monitoring of microplastics in the surface water of coastal regions, 2) develop a universal staining methodology for microplastics detection.
Smart Fish video: https://stem.hkust.edu.hk/videos/smart-fish-real-time-detection-microplastics
References:
· Ocean Conservancy https://oceanconservancy.org/
