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The Valencian PlatjaBot cleans the beaches of the Spanish city, Source: María José Catalá/ X

Valencia trials world's first beach cleaning robot

Valencia trials world's first beach cleaning robot

Finally, the tech that has been available to keep your room floor neat for years can debut on the sand

Valencia announced that it has begun testing the world’s first beach cleaning robot on the city’s sand strips this summer. The device is called ‘PlatjaBot’ and it works autonomously thanks to AI. It will promote cleaner coasts in Valencia, which happens to also be the European Green Capital this year.

Yesterday saw the start of the first tests of the robot within the framework of the Green Capital agenda. The event was attended by Valencia’s mayor María José Catalá, who got to learn more about the way the robot operates.

PlatjaBot is a caterpillar vehicle that can collect up to 10 centimetres of soil and sift through all the waste found on the surface. The trash items accumulate in a deposit tank in its rear, which can be emptied into waste containers at the beach.

The robot has the capability to clean five square kilometres of beach on a single charge and can collect up to 330 units of waste per square kilometre. It also runs on clean energy – both solar-derived and energy stored in batteries. It has a capacity of seven hours of uninterrupted work.

In terms of safety, its AI sensors have been trained to recognize people and obstacles and go around them. On the other hand, if it’s hit, for example in case of vandalism, it will lock itself automatically.

Pioneering solution in terms of local legislation, too

It turns out that the beach robot represents progress not only in the tech and waste management fields but also because this trial is the first application of a pioneering urban sandbox ordinance adopted by the Valencia city council in April.

That piece of local legislation makes the city to be the first in Spain to allow new technology to be tested in an experimental phase in a real urban environment.

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