Science & Tech

BeBot - the beach cleaning robot

NL

25 Sep 2025 — 2 min read

Image from Searial Cleaners (Searial Cleaners, 2022)

This post reviews an article written by CBC News that discusses the development of an automatic robot that cleans beaches. This robot, called BeBot, was developed by Searial Cleaners, an organization that focuses on creating technology that pushes the effort of collecting waste. BeBot is a remotely operated and fully electric machine that removes plastic, glass, metal, paper and other debris from beaches.

The excerpt below describes BeBot:

“BeBot screens sand, rakes seaweed, levels out expanses of beach, and lifts and carries loads. It collects all waste buried in the defined area. BeBot announces its presence, meaning it is completely safe, and it can also cope with steep terrain. It protects plant and animal life as well as the sand as it screens. BeBot is 100% electric, and emits no harmful gases or greenhouse gases. Its quiet running means it can operate at any time of day or night without restriction” (Searial Cleaners, 2022).

BeBot screens through the sand to pick up and carry waste. Even though BeBot won’t remove all waste from the environment, it can capture the larger pieces of waste before they reach the water. The waste that is collected can then be used to track its original source or pathway to stop littering from the source.

The excerpt below discusses the importance of removing waste:

“DeYoung said it is ‘critically important’ to remove litter and plastic before they enter lakes since they commonly break down into microplastics that can impact wildlife in the water. ‘We'll never be able to remove all of the plastic that's found in the environment, but what we can do is collect data on the types of plastic we're finding and then we have a very good sense of what the sources might be and where that plastic might be coming from’ " (Tiberio, 2025).

BeBot is a unique technology created with the purpose of removing waste by also having little impact on the environment. For designers, this technology can inspire a variety of ways to clean up waste. BeBot can also provide inspiration for new forms and functions of technology.

References.

Searial Cleaners. (2022). Searial Cleaners - BeBot - Beach cleaning robot. Serial Cleaners. https://searial-cleaners.com/our-cleaners/bebot-the-beach-cleaner/

Tiberio, V. (2025, June 24). Meet the beach cleaning robot scrubbing Ontario parks clean. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/meet-the-beach-cleaning-robot-scrubbing-ontario-parks-clean-1.7569285

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