Cover Sidhant Gupta wears Emporio Armani shirt, trousers (Photo: Affa Chan/Tatler Hong Kong)
Sidhant Gupta wears Emporio Armani shirt, trousers (Photo: Affa Chan/Tatler Hong Kong)
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From a teenage robotics whiz to a custodian of the oceans, Sidhant Gupta is going global with his fleet of smart, waste-clearing boats
Anyone who has ever swum or paddled in Hong Kong waters will be familiar with the sight of floating rubbish. Robotics startup ClearBot was created to address the mounting issue of filthy shorelines, and its co-founder Sidhant Gupta has plans to take the marine services company global, inspired by Tesla and the way the electric car manufacturer creates excitement around sustainable technology.
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Gupta was one of three Gen.T honourees to appear on the cover of Tatler’s October issue, which celebrated the Hong Kong entrepreneurs who are using technology for sustainable purposes.
Above ClearBot boats patrol harbour waters for rubbish before bringing it back to shore to be disposed of responsibly
ClearBot boats patrol harbour waters for rubbish before bringing it back to shore to be disposed of responsibly
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ClearBot boats, measuring 3.5m by 1.5m, are already being used in Hong Kong waters, and the team has made inroads in India and Panama too. A camera on the bow identifies rubbish before the boat scoops it up into a storage compartment to be taken back to shore. A partnership with Singaporean gaming company Razer last year resulted in a sleek redesign of the boats that Gupta says opens doors when promoting ClearBot’s services to governments and businesses. The boats have also been modified to soak up oil slicks and use jets of water to clean walls at the request of clients, which include Sino Group’s Gold Coast marina.
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ClearBot is a profitable opportunity that is super impactful and very much aligned with my skillset in robotics
The government’s Pollution Control Unit is responsible for provision of marine refuse services using a fleet of diesel-powered collection vessels, including about 80 contractor boats, which remove about 12,000 tonnes of refuse annually. Littering the waters of Hong Kong is an offence liable to a fine of HK$10,000 and six months’ imprisonment, but the laws are rarely enforced and fly-tippers are hard to trace. ClearBot wants to upend an inefficient system by using solar-powered boats and automation, allowing vessels to be sent out without the need for a human present.
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“In Hong Kong, there’s no alternative: the contract has gone to the same company for the last 20 years,” Gupta says. “We’re building an effortless system that does a better job without creating a negative environmental impact, while cutting the adoption barriers by making the technology cheap, reliable and easy to use.
“We have to have scale because this is a problem that exists all over the world. We’re selling to big business first to increase volume and get the cost down before going business-to-consumer.”
Above Waste is collected by the boats, improving the marine environment
Above ClearBot boats can be used for lots of purposes
Waste is collected by the boats, improving the marine environment
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ClearBot, one of ten startups to be selected for this year’s Alibaba Jumpstarter Award, which gives funding and access to a network, uses AI to analyse the composition of the collected waste and correlate it with location and tidal data to highlight trends in the origins of pollution. The resulting bank of data is then shared with authorities to monitor waste, as well as with private companies looking to mitigate their impact on the environment.
Gupta, 25, is originally from Bengalaru, India, where he says pollution was part of daily life. His parents owned a car parts manufacturing company and he grew up fascinated by robots. He won a scholarship to study computer software engineering in Hong Kong, and took advantage of his university’s overseas volunteering programmes to travel. While on one trip to Bali, he noticed the issue of plastic pollution on beaches, and how residents were going out each day to collect rubbish manually.
“I wanted to create something impactful, but I didn’t want to give up on being financially secure. ClearBot is a profitable opportunity that is super impactful and very much aligned with my skillset in robotics. It really ticks all the boxes.”
See all the honourees from Hong Kong on the Gen.T List 2022.
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Credits
Photography: Affa Chan
Styling: Cherry Mui
Hair: Gloomy Kwok at Makeupbees
Stylist's Assistant: Summer Li
Stylist's Assistant: Nicholas Shu
