Japanese marine researchers have developed an artificial intelligence system to automatically detect and count plastic waste and other debris resting on the ocean floor, cutting analysis times by more than half.
The breakthrough comes from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). Scientists built the detection system by feeding computer algorithms more than 12,000 images extracted from deep-water video footage. This footage was gathered over a span of more than 40 years of unmanned probe explorations around Japan.
How the AI Seabed Debris System Operates
The computer model successfully recognizes and counts visible fragments of waste measuring between two centimeters and one meter across. However, according to JAMSTEC researchers, the current technology cannot detect smaller particles, including microplastics.
Before implementing the AI tool, researchers manually tracked marine litter by playing and pausing deep-sea video footage. That visual inspection method required extensive human hours to map the location and volume of debris. The artificial intelligence system now cuts that analysis time down to less than half.
The Urgency of Non-Degradable Marine Pollution
Nakajima Ryota, chief researcher at JAMSTEC, warns that the ongoing accumulation of non-degradable plastic waste creates a severe environmental hazard that will worsen pollution levels if left unchecked.
Plastics on the ocean floor persist in the marine environment without degrading. The research team plans to refine the AI system to increase its detection accuracy, intending to use the technology to act quickly.
JAMSTEC AI system detects and counts seabed waste
- What does the JAMSTEC AI system detect? The system automatically identifies and counts plastic and other visible waste fragments on the seabed ranging from 2 centimeters to 1 meter in size.
- Can the system detect microplastics? No, the current model cannot spot microplastics.
- How much time does the AI save? The system reduces the time required to analyze deep-sea video footage by more than half compared to previous manual inspection methods.
- Who developed the technology? Researchers at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) developed the system using archives spanning over four decades of deep-sea exploration.
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