Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

The oil spill cleanup process is extremely costly, labour intensive, and damaging to the environment. A small Toronto-based company has developed an autonomous and fully automatic oil skimmer that uses a patented filtration system developed through nanotechnology. The skimmer unit is a small un-manned watercraft that collects oil off the surface of the water after an oil spill or leak. Compared to current technologies, this new technology can be deployed quickly, mitigating oil spreading issues and reducing labour and economic costs. The primary objective of the proposed project with Fleming College is to advance the oil skimmer's smartnavigation system, allowing several skimmers to work simultaneously and autonomously. Multiple skimmer units are intended to be deployed at once when collecting oil from a spill; each unit must be able to navigate autonomously while communicating and working in harmony with the other units. In this project, Fleming College researchers will design a navigation system and control unit that will enable swarm ability andcommunication between a minimum of 10 skimmers at a time. The secondary objective is to improve thedesign and placement of the filtration unit as integrated into the watercraft, in order to increase theeffectiveness of the collection system. The new filter unit design will provide lower resistance in the water, while still collecting oil, thus reducing drag and increasing the lifespan of the batteries. As a result of thisproject, the Canadian company will be closer to their goal of commercializing the oil skimmer technology, ultimately bringing economic gains to the company.