Plymouth scientists use computer to recognise plastics
Scientists are using a computer to recognise and map plastic pollution in the sea.
Pictures of different types of waste are being taken by Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) using a camera mounted on a boat.
using a machine learning computer to "recognise and classify the different types of marine plastic", said PML.
Plastic bags or bottles can be recognised with 68% accuracy, it said.
PML said plastic waste was a "major part of the global pollution crisis", but monitoring it was "challenging given the scale, complexity and time required to do so manually".
mputer was gathering would eventually allow the use of unmanned boats to identify plastic pollution in the oceans around the world, it said.
Sophie Armitage, a University of Exeter student who has taken part in the research, said it has "pushed me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to learn many valuable new skills".
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