A special-edition Over Coffee®podcast, featuring one of our top episodes of 2022!

“It’s quite fun, to be honest,” says WasteShark creator Richard Hardiman.

He’s talking about watching his autonomous drone clean plastic from bodies of water–not unlike a popular game where the main character “eats” enemies.

And with climate change at the forefront of numerous conversations today, Richard, who is the founder and CEO of Netherlands-base RanMarine Technology, has been creating a series of innovations to help heal the planet.

When we first spoke in January 2022, Richard and his team had just exhibited the WasteShark at CES® 2022, in Las Vegas. The WasteShark wowed attendees with its capabilities to act like a “vacuum”, clearing floating pollution from lakes, harbors, ponds and waterways.

WasteShark also won a CES® Innovation Award. But the truly exciting news: this particular robot is just the beginning for RanMarine Technology.

Richard previewed the company’s additional innovations–including a “pod” that allows deployment of five WasteSharks together, to clean waterways 24/7!

Here’s what may come as a surprise: Richard describes himself as an “accidental environmentalist”! He shares that story here, as he explains how his innovation works and some of the highlights, along with one low point, of the creative process.

On this edition of Over Coffee®, we cover:

• How Richard “accidentally” came up with his concept for the WasteShark aquatic drone;
  

• The steps from there (and an important catalyst, for him, to the creative process!);
  

• How the WasteShark works;
  

• What users see if they manually operate the aquadrone (created to be very user-friendly);
  

• What happens next!;
  

• What Richard, as someone without robotics experience, had to learn to make the WasteShark a reality;
  

• Some of the challenges and considerations involved in creating an aquadrone;
  

• What data the WasteShark communicates back, about the qualities of the water in which it is operating;
  

• How any creative can apply the steps Richard took, in making the WasteShark a reality, to bring their own ideas to life;
  

• RanMarine Technology’s experience with the CES® 2022 Innovation Award;
  

• Another device, currently in development, to tackle oil pollution;
  

• Some highlights, and a low point, of Richard’s journey, as he and his team designed the WasteShark.
  

Would you like to see the WasteShark, and additional future innovations from RanMarine Technology, in action? Here’s a link to their YouTube channel!