WALTER
WALTER
The Plastic Pollution Solution
What is WALTER?
Plastic pollution is one of the largest environmental problems faced by waterbodies like Lake Victoria where plastics threaten its ecosystem. Majority of cleanups are performed on shores, leaving plastics contained within the water to do immense harm. The Waterborne.Autonomous.Litter and Trash.Extraction.Robot solves this by making waterborne cleanups cheaper and faster for communities, NGOs and research organisations. WALTER utilises computer vision to identify, then collect non-biodegradable waste from polluted water bodies and is equipped with robotic arms to enable the collection of waste from adverse situations such as the waste stuck in nets,it is also equipped with GPS to allow it to report its position and return to its dock. WALTER is also powered by solar energy and mostly made of recyclable materials to reduce the impact it has on the environment.
Why?
Meaningful Work
Biodiversity Loss
Over 300 fish species have been lost so far and plastic threatens to kill even more
Photo Courtesy EcoHubMap
Communities at risk
Over 4 million people depend on Lake Victoria.
Plastic colonization
For every fish caught, 10 pieces of plastic are caught too.
Community Outreach
Helping Those Who Need Us Most
How?
Functionality You Will Love
01
Computer Vision
WALTER utilises computer vision, a subfield of AI, to enable it to identify, track and then collect plastic waste. Furthermore, WALTER also collects data such as location and type and, if not to degraded, brand on the litter that is being collected to allow the scale of pollution to be understood.
02
Navigation
The drone's navigation relies on two main features: Movement Tracking and Mapping.
Movement Tracking uses a GPS to help us determine the drone's position at the surface level, allowing us to set waypoints in which it will follow as it carries out waste collection in the lake.
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Mapping is intrinsic to the drones ability to move underwater. This will help us understand the bottom of the lake, which has not been well explored. It will help in understanding which areas which we should target during waste collection. In the long term it will create an accurate tracking system similar GPS maps
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03
Sustainable body
WALTER's body is extremely strong, durable and waterproof to enable it to reliably store its electronics and the plastic it is collecting. Moreover, it is made from recyclable material to ensure that, if damaged, it can be repurposed rather than becoming a polluter. Finally, the claw is equally durable and recyclable to ensure that it is reliable.
04
Green Energy and microplastics
WALTER uses solar energy as its main source of power. Not only does this make the drone more environmentally friendly butt it also means that the user will not need to charge it often. Finally, We are currently undertaking research to enable WALTER to collect microplastics as well.
In the News
Relevant, Important Updates
From Idea to Reality: The Evolution of WALTER
We are pleased to say that in the December 2023 test. WALTER version 1.3 was able to successfully collect litter from a pond. We've come a long way from version 1 which was made of pvc pipes to version.
Interview with WALTER Director
On the 23rd of August 2023, W.A.L.T.E.R version 1.2 was featured on EarthWise, a series on NTV (a television broadcaster owned by Nation Media Group), featuring an interview of team lead Jeremy Muchilwa.
W.A.L.T.E.R @ AYCA 2023!
From September 1st-3rd, Osiepe Sango featured Walter Version 1.3 on the African Innovation Stage, in front of fellow African innovators, diplomats, and His Hon. Excellency President William Ruto
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