The Effects of the
AL3K

If this technology were to be successfully deployed and implemented in our oceans, it could result in a number of consequences, some positive, some negative.

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Drawbacks:

• Our invention may disrupt marine ecosystems since small organisms such as krill may get trapped inside our invention and in turn affect organisms that consume these organisms.  

• Another consequence concerning ocean animals is that animals may go near the drone and end up damaging some of its external components. Since the ocean is not a controlled environment, there are many factors that may hinder the functionality of the drone, one of which is ocean waves. The drone may get caught in the currents of the ocean, causing it to get carried away from its charging buoy. If that were to happen, the drone would quickly lose its power and get lost in the ocean, resulting in financial loss.                                                                                                                                                                          Benefits:

 

• Our invention would help the organisms in the ocean by minimizing their exposure to micro plastics. Since many oceans animals/organisms are known to unintentionally consume plastic, our invention would reduce the likelihood of them ever coming in contact with plastic and even prevent the plastic from being passed down the food chain.

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• The alternatives to our invention are to either leave plastic and microplastics in the ocean, which is not beneficial to the environment for obvious reasons, or to collect the plastic, in which case they would eventually end up in landfills. In comparison, our invention utilizes plastic consuming bacteria so that no waste is left, which is more ideal since landfills are harmful for the environment for a multitude of reasons .