A 16-year-old built an autonomous robot turtle with a holographic camera and AI to find microplastics, winning a $50,000 scholarship from Regeneron.
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A 16-year-old from Canada won a $50,000 scholarship at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in May for building an autonomous robot turtle that detects microplastics in water.
Evan Budz created the robot after seeing a snapping turtle during a camping trip. He spent about five months building the turtle and another 2,000 hours on a 3D holographic camera and AI models that identify microplastic particles as small as 10 microns.
"I remember some of my first tests. I would put my robot in the water, and it would sink right to the bottom," Budz told Business Insider. "It wouldn't swim. It wouldn't regulate its depth. It was like a brick."
The final version swims autonomously along a search pattern and can adjust its depth. Budz trained the AI to distinguish microplastics from other organisms, reaching a 94% accuracy rate by the time of the fair.
Budz said current testing for microplastics relies on labs, which is slow and expensive. His system works directly in the water, making it possible to analyze remote areas without laboratory access.
Regeneron, which sponsors the fair alongside Society for Science, awarded more than $7 million to winners. Over 1,700 high school students from around the world participated this year.
Budz won the Gordon E. Moore Award for Positive Outcomes for Future Generations. He said he plans to use the scholarship for university, focusing on science or engineering, and hopes to share his research to advance the field.
For more on Regeneron, see the REGN stock page.
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