Crab Vac

Liam

Age 11Ottawa, Canada

My technology sucks up trash that lays on the ground of the ocean with It’s vacuum claw. The trash is stored in the crab shell which bio-mimics a hermit crab.The crab finds the trash from the sensors in its “eyes”, the crab will be taught to notice what’s trash and what’s not. One pro is that this robot can be made into any size so that it can pick up different sized pieces of trash therefore a con is that if it is too small it won’t be able to pick up big pieces of trash. If you put a flotation device on the crab and maybe add a propeller you could have it float on the surface so that it could pick up microplastics that float at the top and don’t sink to the bottom. The legs will work by bio-mimicking a spider, using liquids that will put pressure on the “joint” areas (the areas in the middle of the crabs legs) and act like a hydraulics system or with a spider it is called a “hydraulic skeleton”.

Little Inventors team says

Crab Vac is an excellent idea Liam. Sea animals would simply recognise the crab shape as part of the sea but it is really doing a vital job. I like the customisable options you have mentioned so Crab Vac could remove even more waste in different areas of the sea. Good thinking Liam, well done!