Meet Sand-E the robot, developed by SUTD students to ‘walk’ on sand and pick up trash

SINGAPORE – Discarded plastic cups and small pieces of driftwood were retrieved from the beaches of Pasir Ris Park on Jan 22 – not by volunteers on a beach clean-up, but by a robot.

Dubbed Sand-E, the beach cleaning robot was developed by 27 students from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).

The team had wanted to come up with a solution to assist cleaners, especially the elderly, with beach clean-ups. Such efforts can be laborious, given the uneven and unstable terrain.

About the size of a car tyre, the robot is able to move on sand as it has tracked treads – similar to a military tank – that distribute its weight more evenly. This allows it to navigate sandy ground.

The robot is still at the prototype stage, but is now able to pick up items such as plastic bottles, bags and packet drink cartons. According to the team, the largest item it is able to manage is an adult shoe.

Speaking during a showcase of Sand-E’s capabilities on Jan 22, team lead Vincent Ho, 24, an engineering product development student at SUTD, noted that while Pasir Ris Beach might have been relatively clean that day, there were also days when the trash load on Singapore’s beaches was high.

Sand-E could help lighten cleaners’ loads by clearing a large volume of smaller debris that could potentially be overlooked.

A recent study commissioned by the National Environment Agency had found that trash loads on Singapore’s beaches are affected by various factors, such as wind direction and speed.

When in operation, Sand-E sweeps the surface of the sand with a rotating brush fashioned with cable ties acting as bristles. The debris is moved via a conveyor belt into the body of the machine, where it is stored.

This movement causes most of the sand on the debris to be shaken off, and the grains fall through the belt and the mesh-lined bottom of the machine.

Currently, the robot must be operated manually, with a user guiding it on where to go via remote control.

But eventually, the students – who are from the SUTD Organisation of Autonomous Robots, a student club focusing on autonomous robotics platforms, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning frameworks – hope to upskill their robot with the function of automation.

These machines would then be able to identify rubbish and collect it autonomously.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment Baey Yam Keng attended the showcase event with SUTD president Phoon Kok Kwang.

Singapore has long been known as a clean and green city, but the upkeep remains challenging, especially with an ageing workforce and limited quotas on migrant workers, said Mr Baey.

“In 2025, our attention and emphasis on public hygiene still remains. In fact, it should be in our DNA. It is something we have built, that reputation – and we will continue to upkeep that. But it is about how we do it in a smarter way,” he added.

The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment had designated 2024 as the year of public hygiene, during which issues such as unhygienic public toilets and vector control were addressed.

Four other robot inventions by students and faculty of SUTD were also showcased at the event. Each had specialised functions of cleaning and sanitation. They included a drone equipped with pressurised jetting capabilities, which is currently used in the cleaning, watering and fertilising of the Supertrees at Gardens by the Bay.

Despite having niche and specialised functions, the robots collectively formed a team that complements humans in cleaning work, Professor Phoon said.

“Soon, with advanced AI vision and interactivity, the robots and drones can even communicate and coordinate with us to prioritise where to clean, for example, if they spot several full trash bins that have been tipped over by strong winds,” he added.

The team behind Sand-E said it hopes to further refine the technology, so the robot could make an impact on the cleanliness of Singapore’s beaches.

“With proper guidance, we are confident that the robot can be refined to perform the task much more effectively and efficiently,” Mr Ho said.

Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we said that Mr Vincent Ho was an engineering product design student. SUTD has since clarified that he is an engineering product development student instead.