Clean Waterways for Everyone: Co-designing the Introduction of Autonomous Edge AI Robots with Local Communities to Clean the Canals of Birmingham

Dr Martin Rudorfer (PI), Applied AI & Robotics, Aston University.

Dr Stuart Reeves (Co-I), University of Nottingham.

Nick Cleaver (Project Partner), Community Engagement Officer, Canal & River Trust.

Abdallah Abdelhameed (Project Partner), CEO, Momentum Robotics.

Canals are among the UK’s most popular public spaces. Every year they receive hundreds of millions of visits from boaters, anglers, walkers, cyclists, kayakers and commuters. They also face a persistent problem with floating litter, which is costly and labour-intensive to remove by hand.

This project explores how an autonomous water-cleaning robot could help, and, specifically, how local communities feel about sharing their waterways with one. The robot, developed by Birmingham start-up Momentum Robotics with Aston University, uses on-board Edge AI to detect and classify litter in real time and to navigate the canal while collecting it.

Technology alone isn’t enough for robots to become a welcome part of public life. Working with the Canal & River Trust and the University of Nottingham, we will first study a stretch of Birmingham’s canal network as a social space: who uses it, how, and when. We will then trial the robot on the canal and talk with the people who encounter it. Finally, we will run a co-design workshop with canal-using communities to shape how such robots should be developed and deployed.

The project brings together robotics, social science, industry and the charity sector. Together, the team will produce the first evidence on how autonomous robots can be responsibly introduced into urban waterways.

Key objectives:

• Characterise a Birmingham canal area as a public space for robot deployment, including its physical, social, regulatory and cultural dimensions.
• Observe and understand how canal users respond to a robot operating on the water.
• Co-design, with local communities, guidance for introducing waterway robots in ways that are inclusive and reflect community values.

Anticipated impact:

• A practice framework and guidance for canal managers and technology developers on responsible robot deployment in waterways.
• A policy brief for canal authorities and government bodies.
• Evidence to inform Momentum Robotics’ product development and route to market.
• Public-facing videos sharing the project with communities and the wider public.
• Academic publications extending research on robots in public spaces to waterway environments.