SF Hacks winning Robot: A Robot That Finds and Classifies Trash
10/27/2025
We built CleanMars to explore how robots can help clean the world around us. The idea came from robotics teams that inspired us to combine curiosity with real environmental impact.
CleanMars finds, collects, and sorts trash. It uses navigation algorithms to move toward specific areas and object detection to know what kind of trash it sees. The build combines hardware and software — an Orange Pi, Arduino, and a few custom 3D‑printed parts.
The hardest part? Getting the robot to stop hitting walls. We spent hours improving its navigation and learning how to handle hardware bugs. But when CleanMars finally worked as planned, it felt worth it.
We learned how challenging and rewarding it is to merge AI with real‑world robotics. Next, we want to take things further by designing a Mars Rover version that could one day collect debris on the Martian surface.