Microbots for Microplastics Removal in Vermont’s Aquatic Ecosystems

Microscopic plastic fragments that result from the breakdown of larger plastic products are found in waterways across the nation.  While scientists continue to explore their toxicity to human health, the concentration of microplastics in our drinking water continues to rise.  Flooding hazards that often threaten Vermont communities introduce significant additional microplastics into our water supply.

The partners aim to develop a functional prototype to clean up Vermont watersheds affected by climate hazards and to remove toxic microplastic contaminants.

Microbots, or very small robots, might provide a unique solution to microplastics in our drinking water.  They can be designed to navigate through water using a remote magnetic controller or through catalytic chemical decomposition.  Once the microbots have collected enough microplastics, they can be removed from the water magnetically and the plastics discarded.  This process may be useful for other hazards in the water, such as viruses, bacteria, or heavy metals. 

In the first year, partners redesigned microbot technology to develop a prototype to perform microplastic removal.  In this second year, they are building and testing a new platform to remove microplastic contamination with amphibious robot technology.  

Dr. Louis Rogowski of Applied Research Associates (ARA) in Randolph, Vermont develops microrobotic solutions for medical and environmental challenges.  He is partnering with Dr. Laura Treers of UVM’s College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences to develop a conceptual device to remove microplastics from aquatic ecosystems.  In this phase of the project, Dr. Treers and her students will be tasked with developing the amphibious robot that will navigate, anchor, and collect water samples in local bodies of water. Dr. Rogowski’s team will be responsible for developing the microbots, validating their effectiveness, and integrating the microbot control system into the robot developed by Dr.Treers’ team. Students from UVM will travel to ARA to work with microbots and help design microplastic collection strategies. UVM and ARA teams will perform experiments in lab and real-world settings to determine the effectiveness of the prototype system.