Could the Solution to Pollution Involve the Use of Robots?
Over the last few years, let’s say a decade, there has been a tremendous industrial revolution globally in developed nations and third world countries alike. This has led to a significant increase in the release of carbon to the atmosphere which has dramatically altered the ecosystem leading to a global concern due to the depletion of the Ozone layer and global warming. This has driven to the extinction of numerous animal and plant species and remains to be a threat to others and also poses a great danger to humankind.
If the emission of air and water pollutants continue without strict restrictions, it will reach a level of damage to the ozone that is hardly possible to recover from. In as much as we promote the development of industries we must also seek to maintain a balance in the ecosystem. Otherwise, we will be putting the planet earth to a risk. While technology plays a significant role in the development of industries and other sources air pollutants such as vehicles, heavy machinery, and greenhouses to some extent, it could be the most viable source of a solution to the already existing environmental pollution.
Technology has widely been used in various sectors such as the health sector, industry sector, and finance sector to create viable solutions to complex problems. Some of the most utilized aspects of modern technology include robotics, the blockchain, artificial intelligence, and internet of things. Air pollution is one of the most significant environmental threat that affects every being on the planet including cities, plants, ecosystems, forestry, and the aquatics as well. Water pollution poses a similar threat. These two kinds of environmental pollution account for the deaths of over nine million beings a year across the globe.
Air pollution can be described as the alteration of the air quality in terms of the presence of chemically harmful elements in the air. There have been air pollution solutions such as promoting the use of renewable and clean energy, eco-friendly transportation, energy conservation, and efficiency as well as green building. In addition, there has been the development of electric cars, enforcement of government laws and policies, as well as environmental programs which are set to help protect the environment. To ensure high efficiency of the above mentioned, the creation of awareness through campaigns and advocacy could significantly enforce the fight against air pollution. However, as of now, these practices have not been good enough in curbing this menace.
Amid government laws and regulations among the prior mentioned air pollution solutions, tech companies have joined the campaign with a mission of establishing innovative technological advancements progressively aiming at minimizing air and water pollution. To manage air pollution and improve air quality, measuring monitoring the elements of air are the first critical steps. Currently, cities that are prone to massive air pollution threat have developed air pollution control systems. These are systems that play a vital role in curbing emissions of harmful gases into the atmosphere. These are systems that act as a filter to the emitted gases whereby the system is set to extract the dangerous and unwanted elements from the emissions.
However, this has not turned to be fully effective as some industries do not comply strictly and thus the urge for the development of air quality monitoring stations arose. These are systems set in major cities to collect and assess air quality precisely. Due to their vast initial and maintenance cost, there are currently a low number of deployments leading to a massive gap in the coverage of data collection points. However, there is still an economically feasible option for smaller cities; the smart city initiative.
As a part of smart city initiative, cities in partnership with tech companies have developed air monitoring devices using the internet of things technology. These are devices that are made of networked sensors set to collect and send data to processing stations in order to identify high pollution in terms of location and record changes in different periods for appropriate action to be taken. On the downside, the initial cost of resources required to cover a whole city entirely is quite high.
Also, the sensors need constant maintenance and adjustment which poses a significant barrier to the technology. Besides, the sensors are installed high above the ground areas that hard to reach by human posing a great danger and risk to human beings, a process that can be quite time-consuming. Installation of stationary sensors could be a solution to while still a great way to collect relevant air pollution data, however, this would not gather the precisely accurate data required for efficient environmental pollution control. Thus, another innovative and feasible reliably technology was needed the cover the gap in the market.
The world is never short of technology breakthroughs and innovative minds. In 2018, an Integral Platform for Climate Initiatives, a tech-oriented company partnered with ITMO university based in Russia, to explore how modern technology and particularly robotics could be incorporated in providing a solution to air and water pollution. They developed mobile robot devices equipped with sensors for monitoring components of air and another element for collecting data about the elements of water. This is a smart device that allows you to measure, gather, and analyze the atmosphere at water pollution levels using aerial drones and waterborne robots respectively. The software system incorporated in the robots enables users to connect to drones and launch an independent inspection of air and water bodies. The devices gather key relevant data and send it automatically and securely to the environmental pollution control center and the program operator.
As of now, this is the most plausible innovation geared towards controlling environmental pollution. The devices have been designed to entirely cover the gap that was previously overlooked during the use of internet of things technology. The robots are better equipped to ensure high accuracy of data providing efficient pollution control while eliminating the danger and risk involved while human beings used to calibrate the sensor installed high above the ground.
As a good manager of the project, the company carried out the feasibility study of using robotics in controlling air pollution. Robots pose much less risk to human life as well as minimal interference with other devices occupying the air space and water bodies. In the complex system of city environment with the constant movement of air masses, using drones could be more effective as compared to the use of stationary sensors. This is based on the fact that multiple robot drones can be launched remotely and simultaneously to start an independent air pollution inspection throughout the entire city.
With the constant movement of air masses, this would ensure massive collection of data from multiple locations which in turn would increase the accuracy of the overall results hence accurately determining the level of air pollution to determine the most viable source of action. The tests from stationary set equipment are less accurate, and thus robots can be used to enhance the accuracy and flexibility of results promoting accurate environment monitoring. Also, the robots can be utilized for calibration of stationary sensors to reduce the cost of maintenance significantly to eliminate the risk for humans for the hard to reach areas.
Water pollution, on the other hand, can be monitored and controlled using waterborne robots. This is a device designed using modern blockchain technology. This device is developed in an effort to offer a sustainable solution to water pollution in large water bodies most notably rivers. The waterborne drone is equipped with sensors to collect data about the presence of unwanted elements in water as well as the oxygen levels dissolved in water. The device measures the presence of unwanted ions, turbidity, and the temperature on the surface layer of water to determine the appropriate course of action to be taken. The data is then sent to the control station for analysis and results.
The high presence of unwanted ions results to low pH levels in water which indicates high acidity. This is a major threat to the aquatics and the ecological system at large. Creation and deployment of autonomous waterborne drones will massively aid in the restoration of the ecological balance in the already toxic water bodies. To increase the efficiency and accuracy of the data collected, the drone system can be installed and launched in multiple sections of the river to ensure continuous and real-time monitoring. This will provide highly accurate results and help in determining the most appropriate action to be taken.
Already, a startup project utilizing robots in controlling water pollution have been deployed on the Chicago River. As a kickstarter, the project is not highly sophisticated as a water pollution control system ought to be. This project is about a remotely controlled robot deployed to collect trash in the Chicago River and deposit it at a place convenient for collection by the waste collection and management team.
However simple this project sounds, it has depicted a high level of revolutionary thinking and has played a significant role in combating water pollution. This is a project that can be extended to other parts of the world and be expounded on to yield more results in the combat against water and environmental pollution.
The use of robots is an incredibly intelligent idea and a phenomenal way of establishing a precise and accurate approach to environmental pollution. There is no reason that the concept cannot be banked on to add reinforcement in the battle against pollution and to keep planet earth healthy. The robots allow for the collection of data in a scalable and flexible way that is impossible to obtain in any other way besides the robotic technology.
Besides, deployment of independent drones allows the collection of accurate data from multiple locations to guarantee a high level of efficiency. The blockchain technology used to implement these drones also, ensure consistency of data collected and therefore ensuring that the most accurate action is taken. As robotics technology has been utilized to improve the level of services, the same can be translated into environmental pollution control.
The devices can significantly be used by the government and environmental bodies for ecological monitoring in major cities. The robots can be used to monitor gaseous emissions from industries and manufacture sectors to ensure they fully comply with the set environmental regulations. Waterborne drones as well can be used to monitor, control, and test the volatility of discharge emitted to the rivers from the various industries. The government, as well as environmental bodies, should highly consider the implementation of robotics as ideal enforcement to war against environmental pollution.
