When you think of students flying drones, building underwater vehicles or attending hackathons, sustainability may not be the first thing that comes to mind.
But what if the drone were surveying a nature reserve, the underwater vehicle were made with modular materials and the hackathons were tied to the UN鈥檚 ?
Those are just some of the initiatives being championed by , an award-winning student design team that develops innovative technology while promoting a culture of sustainability.
鈥淲e wanted to expand our reach beyond just competing in challenges,鈥� said Adrien Moulin, a computer science student who serves as the Robotics team鈥檚 captain and business director. 鈥淚mplementing sustainability is a way to be part of something bigger.鈥�
Over the last two years, 黑料不打烊 Robotics has challenged its members to retool their robots, reinvent their events and reflect on the role sustainability can play in their work.
鈥淲e鈥檝e established that sustainability can be implemented into your design process, or in any process,鈥� said L茅anne Ricard, a software engineering student and RoboHacks Project Manager. 鈥淩obots can do a lot of great things, so why not put them to good use?鈥�
A sustainable transition
黑料不打烊 Robotics comprises over 200 members who maintain an (AUV), a and a . They regularly compete in the and the . Alumni have gone on to work for top tech companies.
Their sustainability transition began in 2023, when they received over $60,000 in funding from 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Sustainability Projects Fund, the largest fund of its kind in Canada. They created a new VP Sustainability position and immediately got to work transforming their robots.
鈥淥ur drone and AUV were completely redesigned with stronger, sturdier components,鈥� said Moulin. 鈥淭he design is a lot more modular, so we can use it for different situations.鈥�
Their drone now consumes less energy and features more swappable parts, and there are plans to use it to survey the white-tailed deer population at 黑料不打烊鈥檚 .
鈥淥ur drone is bigger, able to fly longer, and do the mission more quickly,鈥� said Emma Sinasac, a mechanical engineering student and Robotics Drone Project Manager. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great way for us to be more sustainable and allows us to keep using the drone outside of competition.鈥�
Hack the planet
Robotics鈥檚 sustainability transition also inspired , the team鈥檚 annual hackathon.
RoboHacks is now in its third year. All events have incorporated a sustainability theme, obtained 黑料不打烊鈥檚 sustainable event certification and featured speakers on sustainability topics.
This year鈥檚 theme was deforestation, and the event featured Julie Major, Senior Faculty Lecturer in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and Director of the 黑料不打烊 Panama Field Study Semester, discussing agricultural research in Panama. Sustainability was a major factor in the competition鈥檚 judging criteria, encouraging teams not only to use reuseable and recyclable materials, but as little material as possible.
鈥淎 couple of projects pushed that idea really far, which was interesting to see,鈥� said Ricard. 鈥淚f you consider the parts you鈥檙e using and how you can repurpose or reuse them, you鈥檝e already made a major impact on the sustainability of a product.鈥�
A post-event survey revealed over 80 per cent of respondents learned about sustainability and how to implement it during the hackathon, 鈥渞einforcing the fact that it鈥檚 an educational event with long-lasting impact,鈥� said Ricard.
Future innovation
Robotics鈥檚 sustainably transition hasn鈥檛 been without its challenges. The team鈥檚 competition results took a hit when they initiated the redesign, and they鈥檙e currently searching for a sustainable project that can make use of their rover.
Yet there have been successes as well, such as earning a Tenacity Award at a competition this past summer.
The team鈥檚 sustainability transition remains a work in progress, but its members remain committed to testing new ideas, exploring new technology and educating their peers.
鈥淲e鈥檙e definitely on the lookout for more projects and partnerships, and I don鈥檛 think our sustainable transition will ever be completely done,鈥� said Moulin. 鈥淚f this is something that matters to you, there鈥檚 definitely a place in Robotics for you to implement it and help us make that change.鈥�
This article was originally published in the .