Project Brief

Ethan Amedee

Near the LSU Lakes in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, an extensive amount of litter has collected near a drainage ditch off one of the lakes and created an unsightly view, a foul smell, and a harmful effect to the surrounding area’s ecosystem. This has caused a decrease in visible aquatic activity, correlating to a decrease in the amount of fish found in the lakes. Obviously with the lack of fish, people who would normally go fishing in these lakes would go fishing elsewhere. Fishermen are not the only people that have suffered though. Kayakers, paddle boarders, joggers, ect. have also been affected the unattractive sights and smells resulting in them finding elsewhere to enjoy their leisure time. To fix this plight, the Trash Wrangler has been developed. The Trash Wrangler is a remote controlled boat tethered to a docking station that doubles as a trashcan to store the bottles, styrofoam, and other pieces of garbage that the Trash Wrangler collects.

The Trash Wrangler is actually fairly simple; it uses an RC boat made of not much more than a floating body, a battery, a motorized fan, a servo, and a signal receiver that allows the entire boat to be manually piloted, via a wireless controller, around any nearby trash of various sizes in the lake. These littered items will then be corralled by a floating buoy or ‘BOOM’ that is connected to both the back end of the RC boat and the docking station/trash disposal area. Once the trash is corralled and the RC boat returns back to the other end of the docking station, a ratchet controlling the amount of the ‘BOOM’ that is released will then be manually cranked with a handle to reel all of the buoy in along with all of the collected trash. Thus, the trash corralled by the RC boat will be confined to the trash can for easy pick up. Because the RC boat has been docked, it will no longer need to be controlled, allowing the operator to easily transport a trash bag from the trash can inside the docking station to a larger trash can to permanently dispose of the litter.

With all of the trash being corralled and disposed of by the Trash Wrangler, the joggers, kayakers, paddleboarders, fishermen, and anyone else looking to enjoy their time surrounded by a beautiful scenery will return to the LSU Lakes because the removal of all of the trash coincides with the cease of the unpleasant smells and unattractive views. This will also bring an end to the chemicals released by the trash, allowing a better environment for aquatic growth, thus renewing the ecosystem. With these improvements to the park, the fish will benefit, locals will benefit, and the Louisiana reputation will benefit from the good impressions on visitors passing through the city.