Meet Sand-E the robot, developed by SUTD students to ‘walk’ on sand and pick up trash

The Sand-E robot can help in beach clean-ups by picking up items such as plastic bottles, bags and packet drink cartons. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

Zachary Lim

UPDATED Jan 23, 2025, 01:38 AM

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SINGAPORE – Discarded plastic cups and small pieces of driftwood were retrieved from the beaches of Pasir Ris Park on Jan 22 – not by volunteers on a beach clean-up, but by a robot.

Dubbed Sand-E, the beach cleaning robot was developed by 27 students from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).

The team had wanted to come up with a solution to assist cleaners, especially the elderly, with beach clean-ups. Such efforts can be laborious, given the uneven and unstable terrain.

About the size of a car tyre, the robot is able to move on sand as it has tracked treads – similar to a military tank – that distribute its weight more evenly. This allows it to navigate sandy ground.

The robot is still at the prototype stage, but is now able to pick up items such as plastic bottles, bags and packet drink cartons. According to the team, the largest item it is able to manage is an adult shoe.