Razer to clean the oceans with Clearbot partnership

Razer has announced their contribution to marine waste clearing by partnering with Clearbot as a part of the Razer #GoGreenWithRazer sustainability campaign, which focuses on helping and supporting start-ups within the sustainability and environmental sector. With a 10-year roadmap, this is commonly seen as one of, if not the, most ambitious plans within the industry.

Clearbot makes AI controlled robots that help clean up the 11 million tons of plastics that are thrown in to the ocean each year.

"We are extremely happy to have the opportunity to work with a startup focused on saving the environment," said Patricia Liu, Chief of Staff at Razer. "ClearBot's unique AI and advanced machine learning technology will enable and empower governments and organizations around the world to broaden their sustainability efforts. We urge other innovative startups to reach out to Razer for collaboration opportunities as we strive to make the world a safer place for future generations."

The partnership works by giving Clearbot access to staff and tools, and having engineers and designers volunteer personal time to help the prototyping of a scalable product for the mass-market. This has led to a new more efficient and smarter design.

The Clearbot is "newly designed and fully automated robot is armed with cutting-edge AI and machine learning capabilities that can detect marine plastics within two meters in rough waters. The robot can collect up to 250 kg of plastics in just one cycle, while running on solar-powered energy."

The old Clearbot cost around $2000 to make a piece, but the new design should not only be able to bring down cost price, but also enable much larger and efficient models.

"The Razer team's action-oriented approach to solving marine waste issues was extremely eye-opening," said Sidhant Gupta, Chief Executive Officer at ClearBot. "We are grateful to the team who volunteered their time for this project. With the new model, we're confident in extending our reach globally to protect marine waters, starting with partners which include marine harbor operators in Asia and NGOs who have already expressed interest. Together with Razer, we look forward to effecting positive change for the world."