Engineers at RMIT University in Australia have developed a remote‑controlled minibot that can vacuum oil from water, offering a new way to tackle one of the world’s most persistent environmental problems.
Oil spills continue to devastate marine and coastal ecosystems, harming wildlife and costing billions of dollars globally each year in clean‑up and restoration.
In response, RMIT’s team has created the ‘Electronic Dolphin’, a small, dolphin‑shaped robot designed to skim oil slicks safely and efficiently from the surface of water.
The device, roughly the size of a sneaker, integrates an advanced filtering system inspired by the natural structure of sea urchins.
This filter repels water yet instantly absorbs oil, enabling the robot to separate and collect spilled fuel without contamination or chemical aids.
Lead researcher Dr Ataur Rahman, from RMIT’s School of Engineering, said the proof‑of‑concept robot demonstrates how compact, easy‑to‑deploy systems could revolutionise marine cleanup operations.
“Oil spills can take a huge environmental and economic toll. We wanted to create a system that can be deployed quickly, steered accurately and used in areas that are too risky for people to access,” he said.
“We have a long‑term vision of creating dolphin‑sized robots that can vacuum oil, return to base to empty their tanks, recharge, then redeploy automatically – repeating the cycle until the job’s done.”
The prototype currently runs for about 15 minutes on a single charge, but Rahman said future versions would scale up according to pump capacity and onboard storage.
Unlike many traditional oil‑cleanup materials that rely on chemical agents or fixed filters requiring manual handling, the RMIT minibot uses an environmentally friendly coating engineered by the team.
“Unlike past oil cleanup materials that often use harsh, hazardous chemicals and work only as fixed filters involving manual operation, our new technology is made using an eco‑friendly coating for filter we developed,” Rahman said.
The coated filter sits at the front of the robot, where a small pump draws oil through it into a collection chamber.
In controlled water tests, the minibot recovered around two millilitres of oil per minute with over 95 per cent purity, maintaining performance without the filter becoming waterlogged.
Under an electron microscope, the coating reveals a forest of tiny, sea urchin‑like spikes that trap air pockets.
These microscopic structures cause water to roll straight off while attracting and absorbing oil, allowing the filter to be lightweight, reusable, and highly selective.
PhD researcher Surya Kanta Ghadei, who led much of the materials development, said his personal experiences inspired his work on the project.
“Growing up in India, I saw the impact oil spills can have on marine life, especially turtles,” he said.
“That stayed with me.
“When I began my PhD, I wanted to create something that could help responders act faster and keep wildlife out of danger.”
The RMIT team aims to expand future models by increasing filter area and pump capacity, with field trials and durability testing planned.
Rahman said the researchers hope to collaborate with industry partners to commercialise the technology.
The research builds on work led by Distinguished Professor Madhu Bhaskaran and Professor Sharath Sriram at RMIT, with collaboration from Professor Ramasamy Sakthivel from India’s Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research.
