Martinique (French West Indies) has been battling the invasion of a seaweed called sargassum for several years now.

To this day, the only tools used to get rid of this algae are excavators, which are damaging the beach and its fauna, or simple shovels and wheelbarrows, which are not nearly efficient enough.

As part of a design fiction course, I tried to come up with a way to tackle this issue and even make the best out of the situation.

As this project embodies my desire to see my island turn towards real innovation, instead of relying upon the same old temporary methods that only delay the problem, I decided to observe all the aspects of this invasion.

Sargassum had already had visible impacts on inhabitants and on the economy so the new tool that arises from this study should provide some answers to these subjects.

The new device is a fully automated robot capable of "eating" seaweed and storing it so it can be transformed later, for fuel or electricity.

Powered by solar energy, this robot also stands out thanks to its tortoise shape. Imitating nature to protect the environment, this friendly form can even attract tourists.
It also aims to be useful in the long-term by allowing people to interact with it through an app.