beach
Aviral’s quest was not a quest—it was a search for the whys of machines that made his favorite beach sparkle like a gem. At sunrise one balmy morning, determined and armed with a notebook full of questions, he sat down with Mr. Sen, the beach care wizard of the region, and set out on this technology quest together.
“Tell me how the beach remains beautiful,” Mr. Sen smiled benevolently. Their first halt was a big car park where there was a big mechanical beach cleaner at work. “Work it like a giant portable comb,” he instructed Mr. Sen. Aviral watched the whirring rakes and brushes of the truck scooping up the sand carefully, gathering rubbish such as discarded plastic bottles and nets entangled on them. The rubbish was tipped into a rubbish can tidily. Aviral took observations, surprised that the machine drew a line separating toxic waste from normal sea algae such as seaweed without touching the beach’s life.
Subsequently, Mr. Sen brought him to a line of mammoth trucks and his gaze found a vacuum truck. “That one is one big vacuum cleaner,” asserted Mr. Sen, taking him closer. It housed a long vacuum tube and there was a solid motor with top-notch airflow. The truck would inhale extremely tiny plastic pieces and extremely thin shreds of material that the mechanical cleaner cannot ingest while driving on sand on a beach. “They’re so efficient, even the smallest of pollutants are caught before they’re vented back out into the ocean,” stated Mr. Sen. Aviral was amazed at how accurate this technology was, how it complemented the work of its larger counterpart.
They headed towards the beach, where land and sea met. There, an amphibian beach cleaner was at work. “This machine is unique,” stated Mr. Sen, gesturing towards the sleek vehicle that glided on sandy beaches and shallow seas. Its adjustable wheels and powerful conveyor belt mechanism, the amphibian cleaner picked up trash that would otherwise end up in the sea. Aviral wished to learn how the multi-purpose machine helped the beach and ocean ecosystem.
While Aviral thought he had already witnessed the peak, he was diverted by a small malleable device. A lonely little beach sweep flew past in the sand. This is our latest innovation,” beamed Mr. Sen, “this robot vacuum cleans the beach using smart sensors and GPS.” It identifies patches of dense litter and sweeps them up with remarkable accuracy.” The capability of the robot to move through minute spaces impossible for bigger machinery was breath-taking to Aviral, and his mind started wandering towards a time when technology would merge with nature.
As the sun set, Aviral accompanied Mr. Sen to the beach and sat there pondering what had been discovered that day. All the machinery—the big mechanical scrubber, the advanced self-guided robot—were necessary to maintaining the coast in its original condition. His head full of thoughts and his heart full of thoughts, Aviral returned home. His quest was no longer one of machines but a tale of passion, vision, and mutual purpose to restore the world, beach by beach.
By: Pranjal Agrawal
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