Razer partners with ClearBot to reduce ocean plastics

Razer said it has partnered with marine-waste cleaning firm ClearBot to reduce pollution from ocean plastics.

In celebration of World Oceans Day, the partnership will complement Razer’s own “green investment” efforts to help sustainability-focused startups by equipping them with tools and capabilities to help them scale.

The gaming peripherals and gamer brand company recently announced its 10-year #GoGreenWithRazer sustainability goal. Razer’s Green Fund initiated the partnership with ClearBot.

With approximately 11 million tons of plastics entering the oceans each year, ocean-cleaning enterprises often face difficulties with dated technology, cost, and efficiency. The ClearBot team designs robots that leverage AI vision to identify different types of marine plastic waste and collect information regarding these pollutants in the oceans to protect aquatic life. ClearBot robots are deployed to retrieve marine plastic waste, which is then sorted on shore and responsibly disposed of.

Patricia Liu, chief of staff at Razer, said in a statement that ClearBot’s AI and other tech will enable governments and others to broaden their sustainability efforts. She encouraged other sustainability startups to reach out to Razer for help.

Under the partnership, Razer’s engineers and designers have volunteered personal time and technical expertise to help turn the ClearBot prototype into a scalable, mass-marketable product. Leveraging Razer’s knowledge and manufacturing know-how, ClearBot was able to evolve the robot design into one that is smarter and more efficient.

The newly designed and fully automated robot is armed with cutting-edge AI and machine learning capabilities that can detect marine plastics within two meters in rough waters. The robot can collect up to 550 pounds of plastics in just one cycle while running on solar-powered energy.

Sidhant Gupta, CEO of ClearBot, said in a statement that the Razer assistance was very eye-opening for ClearBot and they hope to do more over time together. ClearBot has issued a call to action through its program to collect data on marine plastic waste. The company is encouraging people to upload photos of marine plastic waste commonly found in open waters onto ClearBot’s website. The research and design team will add this information to ClearBot’s existing database to help improve the robot’s waste detection AI algorithm.

Sneki Snek for trees

Meanwhile, back in March, Razer partnered with Conservation International to protect trees, expanding its target from saving 100,000 trees to saving 1 million trees. The initiative has saved 300,000 trees to date, and Razer is launching new Sneki Snek merchandise for every additional 100,000 trees saved.

Razer has now launched two new Sneki Snek merchandise items. The Razer Sneki Snek Eye Mask features a padded design with velvety finish for comfort and undisturbed rest. The Razer Sneki Snek Floor Rug protects floors from everyday wear and tear and is crafted with noise dampeners for unobstructed chair movement. Keeping with the Razer mascot’s sustainability objectives, both the eye mask and floor rugs are made of 100% recycled materials.

When the milestone of 400,000 trees is reached, Razer will release its Sneki Snek Slippers.