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Robot fish has microplastics for lunch

Scientists have developed a new generation of robot fish that can do more than just swim, it can also eat microplastics — providing a promising solution to the global problem of plastic ocean pollution.

The University of Surrey in the United Kingdom hosts a contest each year focused on developing robots that mimic things in nature. The 2022 winner, chemistry undergrad Eleanor Mackintosh, designed a robot that looks and acts like a fish and is skilled at filtering microplastics from water it sucks in through its gills. The robot is aptly named Gillbert.

Gillbert is 50 centimeters long and approximately the size of a full-grown pink salmon. It is shaped like a fish, and its movements mimic those of a fish. It moves through the water via remote control while its gills move in and out, drawing in water. Gillbert filters the microplastics — some as small as 2 millimeters — and stores them in an internal container.

Though Gillbert is operated by remote control, Robert Siddall, robotics lecturer at the University of Surrey and founder of the competition, hopes this robot fish inspires others to work toward gaining control of the plastic problem plaguing the world’s oceans.

But with an estimated 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic in the oceans, why focus on microplastics?

Ludovic Dumée, assistant professor of chemical engineering at Khalifa University, says although microplastics are small and difficult to see, they have an enormous impact.

“Microplastics, whose maximum dimension falls below 5 millimeters, are ultimately released into waterways and represent a major threat to global ecosystems, the entire food chain as well as many human industrial activities that rely on river or sea-water intake,” he says in a 2023 article in KUST Review.

Additionally, Dumée says human beings consume between 50,000 and 100,000 microplastics annually. This exposes humans to contaminants and increased cancer risks.

CAPTION: Plastic straws become microplastics IMAGE: Unsplash

Gillbert the fish is one possible solution to the microplastics problem, but more attention is required to solve this global issue.

The 2023 Natural Robotics Contest requires this year’s entries be inspired by the December 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference held in Montreal, Canada. The biodiversity conference addressed appropriation of a global biodiversity framework to deal with the main causes of nature loss. The 2023 contest is open for entries until July 1, and the winner is promised a working prototype based on their design.

A 3D print download of Gillbert is available for open access so others might improve upon the initial design.

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It’s a robot invasion —
in the operating room

Telehealth evolved rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic, with phrases like tele-triage and tele-consultants becoming household words as governments adapted policies and encouraged remote services to manage an unprecedented health emergency. At the same time, a halt in most elective surgeries worldwide highlighted a need for advancements in robotic surgeries.

Now with progress in machine learning, AI the 5G network and robotic surgery equipment, surgeons can operate on patients from across the room and across the world.

As with most technology developments, there are kinks to iron out. Since the first telesurgery in 2001, skepticism, network issues, legislative differences between countries and the high cost of robotic equipment hindered growth. After the development of 5G, however, a team in China in 2019 performed successful telerobotic spinal surgeries on 12 patients from six cities.

While both robotic surgery and telesurgery offer more precision, are less invasive and result in quicker recovery time, telesurgery also eliminates logistical issues like travel health risks and cost of travel. It also offers better access to much needed surgeries for underserved countries.

CAPTION: Neurosurgeon remotely operates on a patient IMAGE: Shutterstock

The Lancet in 2015 published a study in which researchers estimate 5 billion people lack access to necessary surgical care. The main problem with this is not only the expense of the robotic systems, but also access to high-speed internet.

Gary Guthart, CEO of Intuitive — the company that created the Da Vinci surgical robotic system, which was the first to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — said the company is developing innovative strategies to increase the number of surgically trained clinicians in low-resource regions.

“This is an urgent problem,” he says, “because of the significant global shortage of surgeons, particularly in low-resource countries. Every year, an estimated 16.9 million people die who might otherwise be treated.”

With the need for telesurgery development at the forefront, advancements in machine learning, AI and the 5G network, the market is expected to surge to an estimated compound annual growth rate of 11.9 percent between 2022 and 2029. The growth can be attributed to things like a desire for less invasive surgeries, precision ability, a 3D surgical viewpoint and the increasing volume of surgeries worldwide. A paper published in 2020 in Elsevier estimates that there are 310 million major surgeries each year.

Further benefits include data sharing ability between institutions, remote consultations and training surgeons.

Anthony Fernando, president and CEO of Asensus Surgical, a medical devices company that focuses on digitizing the interface between surgeon and patient, believes that using AI, machine learning and adding deep-learning abilities to robotics will result in “the best possible patient outcomes independent of surgeon skill level, training, and experience. This transition of thinking and innovation is what will drive the larger digital transformation needed to enable the future of telesurgery and other future surgical improvements that we have not even imagined yet.”

Robotic-assisted surgeries have been around for nearly four decades. The first procedure was a brain biopsy in 1985, which led the way for a gallbladder removal in 1997. This robot did not have a camera, so a human assistant had to hold the endoscope. The first telesurgery – also a gallbladder removal – was four years later.

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UAE growing food security
with new agritourism park

The UAE is known around the world for having the biggest and best of many things, from the world’s fastest roller coaster to the world’s tallest tower. Now the nation is making itself known for the biggest and best in agritourism.

The UAE announced a plan in 2022 to build the largest agritourism park in the world. The park is set to begin construction in 2025 and open in 2030. The park will employ an estimated 10,000 people and host a fully green transit system and bio-saline agriculture.

While agritourism has been around since the end of the 19th century — in the form of city dwellers traveling in summer to visit family-owned farms — it is now a growing trend in sustainability and a popular choice for family vacations.

Activities in agritourism include anything from sampling food to an authentic farm-life experience in which a family might lodge on the farm and participate in daily operations. Many might have experienced agritourism and not even realized it when visiting a petting zoo, eating at a farm-to-table restaurant or picking berries.

Essentially, farmers or producers open their doors to the public for education, entertainment and an additional income stream. For some, however, it’s also about food security.

In a nation with a complicated climate and the pandemic highlighting difficulties with reliance on supply chains, food security is a major focus for the UAE. Approximately 90 percent of consumed food in the country is imported.

Credit: URB

In arid regions like the Middle East, developing technologies like vertical farms, a 400-hectare wheat farm fed by desalinated water in the desert and the world’s largest agritourism park are creating opportunities to become less reliant on imports.

The UAE’s leaders have expressed interest in becoming self-sufficient through driving local food production, incentivizing foreign investment and reducing red tape.

In a food and agriculture forum at EXPO 2021, Minister of Climate Change and Environment and Minister of State for Food Security Mariam Al Mheiri said, “We all share a vision for making our food system innovative, resilient and ultimately sustainable through increasing investment in agriculture research and development,” the National reported.

In 2021, the global agritourism market was appraised at $U.S.45,395 million and is estimated to reach $U.S.141 billion by 2030.

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Drones help farmers grow greener

Growing demand for food is putting increasing pressure on the environment. Excess fertilizers and chemical sprays pollute waterways: In 2020, 2.66 billion metric tons of pesticides were used around the world. But drones could be the answer to transforming the way we farm, improving crop yield and limiting environmental impact.

Soil health is another area closely monitored by farmers, now aided by drone sensory data. Information captured by drones can help farmers analyze soil composition and decide where supplements are required, increasing crop yields.

“Drones are a new technology allowing farmers and consultants to obtain overhead images of farm fields and land areas at greatly reduced prices over satellite and other methods,” says Randy Price, precision farming specialist at Louisiana State University Agricultural Center.

Drones can be fitted with sensors and imaging technology, and this data plays an integral role in active farming. Among other uses, the data can help farmers identify health issues with the crop, such as fungal contaminations, pest infestations or areas of growth congestion. Identifying these issues early and targeting specific locations eliminates the need to spray entire crops with pesticides — which means less toxicants in the air, soil and food supply.

Randy Price – Louisiana State University Agricultural Center

But drones aren’t only used for capturing data, they’re also good workers. Beyond identifying the problem, they can also be the solution.

“Once images are obtained, spatial variability maps can be made and downloaded to sprayer drones, which will allow automatic spraying of selected areas with very little pilot attention needed — this technology is evolving rapidly and will eventually lead to effortless, precision spraying over larger areas of land in an entirely computer-controlled fashion,” Price tells KUST Review.

With any new technology, there are obstacles to overcome. The drones are equipped with 5G and send the data back to be analyzed, but connectivity issues could inhibit data collection and transmission; wind or rain can affect drone flights; governments may require clearance to use drones; and with added technology comes added costs.

Still, with the agricultural drone market expected to grow to $10.8 billion by 2028, up from $1.3 billion in 2020, these obstacles are expected to rapidly diminish.

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Rover chief: Risk proves UAE’s resolve

The UAE’s Rashid Rover was presumed destroyed after the Japanese company that operated the lander it was stowed on lost contact with the spacecraft at landing. But the project manager of the all-Emirati team that created the rover said getting the technology into space was an accomplishment all by itself.

Dr. Hamad Al Marzooqi, of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center and a Khalifa University alum, said before the landing attempt that the UAE team behind the Rashid Rover knew the landing was dangerous, but believed it was worth the risk.

He said this mission reflects the adventurous spirit with which the UAE approaches everything. “This mission is proof that we don’t just make plans, we make things happen. This in itself is a success.

“All of these experiences and knowledge that we gained is a success by itself,” he said. “We gained confidence.”

The iSpace team said it would continue to investigate the loss of the HAKUTO-R’s telemetry.

The Arab world’s first lunar mission began three years ago. The UAE hoped to be the fourth country to safely land on the lunar surface.

Soft lunar landings are difficult because there is no atmosphere and parachutes can’t slow the spacecraft. Only the United States, China and the former Soviet Union have achieved them.

CAPTION: The team chose the landing site for ease of landing IMAGE: Anas Albounni

The project aimed to study lunar surface materials such as dust and soil, also called regolith, and monitor radioactivity and electrical signals that would offer important data for future missions. The rover was equipped with two high-resolution optical cameras to navigate the surface and allow geological study of the landing site.

Among challenges the rover team faced: its size.

“We have a small team working on the project, and the team did everything from scratch, from concept designs until now,” Marzooqi said. “(Usually) you have a team working on the custom design, then a team working on the engineering side, then another team working on the testing part and another team is working on the operations. But we went through the whole process from the beginning, from concept designs.”

“The knowledge gained through this mission is tremendous,” Marzooqi said.

“We have experts now doing communications with the systems from the moon. We have experts doing mobility systems,” and others in the Middle East are now interested in accessing that expertise, he said.

The knowledge gained through this mission is tremendous.

– Dr. Hamad Al Marzooqi, mission project manager

CAPTION:Al Marzooqi with the Rashid Rover IMAGE: MBRSC

Mohamed Ramy El-Maarry, the director of the Space and Planetary Science Center at Khalifa University, contributed to the work on the rover.

“Having a member of KU, a national university, in the science team is a point of great pride for us,” El-Maarry told KUST Review.

The rover team put considerable work into the project, designing systems and instruments specifically for the task.

CAPTION: The Rashid Rover was built by an all Emirati team IMAGE: MBRSC

The Rashid Rover, named for the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed al Maktoum, former ruler of Dubai, was scheduled for a 14-day exploration.

Khalifa University planned to contribute to data analysis and collection and science operations.

The UAE is already working on a second rover. “We are not waiting for this one to succeed or to fail,” Marzooqi said before the landing attempt. The next rover will be more advanced, he promised.

The UAE space program has other projects coming up as well.

“We have a plan to launch a remote sensing satellite that will be the most advanced remote sensing satellite sent by MBRC. This will be our fourth thermal sensing satellite,” Marzooqi said.

“Also during this year we have a small program called the Payload Hosting Initiative. The idea is to have a … platform of small satellites to allow developing nations to (send payloads into space).”

On a personal note, prior to the rover landing, Al Marzooqi told KUST Review, “For me, the moon has always been special. Especially within our culture. As Muslims, we look to the moon to mark the start of and end of Ramadan and we follow the lunar calendar.

“But now, since we started working on the moon and we have our rover orbiting the moon, the moon is completely different for me. Every night I look up at the moon, though we cannot see the rover orbiting, knowing that there is something up there touched by our hand is an experience I cannot explain in words. This is something very personal for me and I was very fortunate to be a part of this team, working on this mission.”