MOL Selects Pirika as First Recipient of BLUE Ocean Fund Grant　商船三井、ブルーオーシャン基金の初助成先にピリカ

AI-Powered Humanoid Robots to Be Tested for Collecting Washed-Up Waste on Beaches

AI活用のヒューマノイドで海岸漂着ごみ回収を実証

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) announced on 13 November that it had selected a project led by environmental start-up Pirika, Inc., entitled “Construction of a coastal drift litter collection system utilizing humanoid robots”, as the first recipient of a grant from its social contribution fund, the MOL BLUE Ocean Fund.

The project aims to develop a system combining humanoid robots with artificial intelligence (AI)-based waste recognition technology to handle the entire process of identifying, picking up, transporting and collecting waste washed ashore.

■The full article covers the following topics in English and Japanese (approximately 1,500 Japanese characters):

→ The potential of new technology supported by MOL, using humanoid robots that walk on sandy beaches to collect washed-up waste

→ AI identifies, picks up and transports waste, paving the way for a new approach to beach cleaning

→ Can robots provide a sustainable cleaning system for coastal and island communities struggling with labour shortages?

→ Pirika’s technological capabilities, with operations spanning more than 130 countries and over 400 million pieces of litter collected through its initiatives

→ MOL’s first BLUE Ocean Fund grant: key areas of focus in testing marine environmental technology for practical implementation

(The remainder of the article is available in the paid edition in both English and Japanese. The Japanese version follows the English article.)

商船三井、ブルーオーシャン基金の初助成先にピリカ

AI活用のヒューマノイドで海岸漂着ごみ回収を実証

　商船三井は13日、社会貢献基金「商船三井ブルーオーシャン基金」の第一号助成案件に、環境スタートアップのピリカが進める「ロボットを活用した海岸漂着ごみ回収システムの構築」を採択したと発表した。

ヒューマノイドロボットと人工知能（AI）によるごみ認識技術を組み合わせ、漂着ごみの発見から拾い上げ、運搬、回収までを担う仕組みを開発する。

■記事本文では英語と日本語で以下の内容を読むことができます（記事全文約1,500文字）

→ 砂浜を歩くヒューマノイドが漂着ごみを回収、商船三井が支援する新技術の可能性

→ AIがごみを識別し、拾い上げて運ぶ。海岸清掃の新たな仕組みづくりに挑む

→ 人手不足に悩む沿岸部や離島、ロボットによる持続可能な清掃体制は実現するか

→ 世界130カ国以上で展開、4億個超のごみ回収を促進したピリカの技術力

→ 商船三井の基金第一号案件、海洋環境技術の社会実装に向けた実証の焦点とは

（続きは英語と日本語で書かれた有料版の本文でお読みください。日本語の記事は英文記事に続いて掲載されています）