Tanya Weaver Tue 10 Mar 2026
Collected at: https://eandt.theiet.org/2026/03/10/dolphin-shaped-robot-vacuums-oil-spills-ocean-surface
A remotely-operated minibot developed by Australian researchers can quickly clean up oil spills using a specialised filtering system.
Rapidly cleaning up large-scale oil spills presents an environmental and technological challenge. In future, this work could be undertaken by schools of ‘electronic dolphins’ that skim the surface of oil slicks, absorbing the pollution with high efficiency.
A team at RMIT University in Melbourne built the foot-long device with an onboard filtering system that is able to repel water while absorbing oil floating on the surface. The oil is drawn through the filter via a pump into an onboard collection chamber.
“Oil spills can take a huge environmental and economic toll. We wanted to create a system that can be deployed quickly, steered accurately and used in areas that are too risky for people to access,” said Dr Ataur Rahman, lead researcher from RMIT’s School of Engineering.
The inspiration for the filtering system came from sea urchins that are covered in tiny, sharp spikes that help protect them from being eaten by predators. The filter’s coating features similar microscopic spikes that trap pockets of air, causing water to roll straight off while oil sticks to the surface.
According to the researchers, during controlled testing the minibot recovered oil at about 2ml per minute with more than 95% purity without the filter becoming waterlogged.
Currently the prototype runs for about 15 minutes on its current battery, but the researchers say the final version could scale up depending on pump size and oil storage capacity.
Peter Clarke, RMIT University
“We have a long-term vision of creating dolphin‑sized robots that can vacuum oil, return to base to empty their tanks, recharge, then redeploy automatically – repeating the cycle until the job’s done,” said Rahman.
PhD researcher Surya Kanta Ghadei, who led much of the materials development, said the project was driven by both technical ambition and personal experience.
“Growing up in India, I saw the impact oil spills can have on marine life, especially turtles. That stayed with me. When I began my PhD, I wanted to create something that could help responders act faster and keep wildlife out of danger,” said Ghadei.
The team is now exploring how to scale the technology by increasing the filter area across the robot’s surface, which would require a higher capacity pump. Field testing and long-term durability assessments are planned as the next stage of development.
Their study – Multifunctional superwetting sea urchin mimetic nanosheet based interface for remote oil–water separation – has been published in the journal Small.
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