Kaydyn Mack and Aris Isaac are two fifth graders from New Tampa, Florida who teamed up to develop a remote-controlled trash-collecting robot that’s now helping clean up litter along local shorelines. 

Their invention, called ORCA (Ocean Robots Collection Administration) began as a school STEM fair entry that has since evolved into a beach-roaming robot that encourages beachgoers to dispose of their rubbish properly. 

The design of the robot resembles an orca whale and is built from household materials like cardboard, wood and remote-control car components. A clever way to repurpose common materials found at home!  

ORCA patrols Clearwater Beach with a trash bag and a speaker that invites beachgoers to hand over their litter. One friendly recorded message says: “Hello, I am ORCA. I am a trash robot. Please deposit your trash with me.” 

The original version of the robot is a cardboard box attached to a remote control car that won Mack a trophy in fourth grade last year. But in fifth grade, he and Isaac put their heads together to take the design further, improving its mobility and giving it a marine-themed makeover.  

The boys were determined to make a difference after reading a United Nations report highlighting that over 800 species are impacted by beach pollution.   

“We created this project because we like helping people and animals,” said Isaac.  

“There’s so much trash on the beach, and it’s been hurting our environment and economy.” 

While they didn’t win the STEM fair this year, they’ve certainly won many hearts, inspiring others with their mission to make a difference for our planet. Their project is a great reminder that big ideas can start small and simple actions like picking up litter can have a big positive impact on the environment.

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