Vectra group takes a step towards ‘Swachh Bharat’

Vectra Advanced Engineering Private Limited (VAEPL) in collaboration with Ranmarine has developed a water drone to clean the polluted water bodies and save the environment

As India’s environmental and waste problems mount while the momentum of ‘Swachh Bharat’ making significant strides, a new product has arrived to aid this herculean task.

Vectra Advanced Engineering Private Limited (VAEPL) is bringing to India ‘Wasteshark’ – a water drone developed by Ranmarine Technology BV of Netherlands to simultaneously eat garbage and collect environmental data.

The Wasteshark is an emission-free drone that can clear waste, chemicals, and even intrusive vegetation from the water. In addition to floating debris, the Wasteshark also collects micro-plastics, one of the most difficult pieces of pollution which need to remove from entering the sea.

Through its constant collection of waste, the drone prevents pollution from traveling down the water column and being deposited on the floor. Wasteshark can hold up to 300 kgs at a time, before returning to a collection area where the waste can be processed.

VAEPL, an ISO certified company with its offices at Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi, and manufacturing facility at Greater Noida is committed to manufacturing products to help with the mammoth task of garbage collection and cleaning, be it sewers, streets or polluted water bodies. The Wasteshark will be added to Vectra’s stable of Skid Steer machines with over 20 attachments and garbage compactors.

Sharing his views on this new product, Dilip Magee, GM, Sales and Marketing said, “The Wasteshark is just what India requires to maintain its rivers, lakes, and ports to ensure we never go back to the state of toxicity and filth that we have put up with for years.”

This amazing drone is inspired by nature’s own whale shark. From the blending technology to its form and function, the Wasteshark is designed to swim through water and eat its prey with minimum effort and maximum efficiency. It can pick up trash lying as deep as one foot below the surface and can operate up to 16 hours per day thereby collecting waste at the rate of 1 kg per minute. It can check the water temperature, depth, oxygen content and many other data points with the installed sensors, which in turn can also help in improving and maintaining water quality. Users can steer the device with a remote control or an ipad, and its movements can be tracked by a GPS signal. Wasteshark is also fitted with a collision-avoidance system that uses laser imaging to spot nearby objects and adjust its positioning if it senses one.

In addition to collecting waste, the drone is capable of learning about its environment over time, becoming smart and more efficient at creating routes the longer it is in the water.

Overwhelmed with the collaboration between Vectra and Ranmarine, Oliver Cunningham, Chief Commercial Officer at Ranmarine said, “At Ranmarine we’ve always loved fine food, good cricket, and vibrant colour, so India is very much a natural home for us. We are thrilled to have this opportunity to partner with Vectra and make a positive difference to India’s health and well-being. We believe that what’s good for India is great for Planet Earth.”

The ‘Wasteshark’ is an emissionfree drone that can clear waste, chemicals, and even intrusive vegetation from the water. In addition to floating debris, it also collects micro-plastics – one of the most difficult pieces of pollution which need to remove from entering the sea