You know that time where you dreamed of having the batmobile you were playing with? It sure was Grant’s dream and his tenacity in getting Ocean Builders together made it come true as we are testing the The ASTRO (Autonomous Surface Transport & Recycling Operations) ASV(Autonomous Surface Vessel)

This floating Batmobile-looking drone will be in charge of safely transporting up to 200kg or 440lbs, but also cleaning-up around the drone. But not only that! If Pods guests will be taking great care of their surroundings, it is not yet the behavior of many people. Our oceans are filled with trash and it is Ocean Builders duty to help in cleaning as much of it as possible.

Things aren’t perfect yet. Some 3D printed parts are not performing as well as we hoped and they would definitely not last for the length of time we designed them for originally. There’s still some improvement to do around the electronics as well to make sure that the compartment is sealed properly, hence protecting the “brain” of the drone.

Once we added the thrusters, we used a crane to lift the drone and gently put it in the water because we realized that….it’s a heavy piece of equipment! Once this process was done, we were ready for launch.

It’s always a proud moment to launch anything here at Ocean Builders factory. But it felt very special to see this boat floating around on its own and imagining that soon enough it would play its part in the gigantic task of cleaning up our oceans.

CEO Grant says it best: “One small step for Ocean Builders, one giant leap for ocean cleanup”