A platform that promotes litter picking
Pirika
Used in 137 countries and regions, with over 460 million pieces of litter collected. Pirika makes cleanups by individuals, governments and companies visible and easier to join.
Robotics
Automating the collection and transport of beach litter with robots
We bring robots into beach cleanups that now depend on people. Our goal is to ease labor shortages and help protect Japan's beautiful coastline. This project is being developed with support from the Tokyo Bay eSG Project (Tokyo Bay Innovation Field).
Clean beaches are kept clean by people
A lot of litter washes ashore
Japan has the sixth-longest coastline in the world. Ocean currents bring in a lot of litter.
Kept clean with funds and labor
With government budgets, contractors and volunteers keep the beaches beautiful.
The challenge: too few workers
Even with a budget, there are not enough people to do the work. Keeping beaches clean is getting harder.
Robots work together: find, pick up, carry
-
1Find
Litter-recognition AI spots the litter, and the collection robot moves toward it on its own.
-
2Pick up
A four-legged collection robot picks up litter one piece at a time with its arm.
-
3Carry
A tracked carrier robot gathers the litter in a basket and carries it to a set location.
Looking for partners
We aim to automate many kinds of cleaning and environmental work, starting with beach cleanups. We are looking for customers and partners.
Exhibitions and demos
We bring the robots to environmental events and exhibitions and show how they find and pick up litter.
Sponsorship and partnership
We are looking for companies and organizations to run trials with us. Please consider sponsorship or providing technology and parts.
Use in beach cleanups
For local governments that manage beaches and companies that do cleanup work. Please consider offering a trial site or future adoption.
Services
Pirika offers environmental services, from litter collection and surveys to recycling.
Litter distribution survey
Takanome
AI analyzes road videos to survey littering and illegal dumping. It measures the effect of countermeasures and suggests improvements to keep towns clean.
Surveys, pollution control, business support
Consulting
Pirika consultants provide environmental surveys, pollution control and environmental business support to fit each client's needs.
Turning litter and beach waste into resources
Recycling
We develop technology and businesses to recycle plastic and other waste that was hard to recycle before.
Current page
Automating beach litter cleanup
Robotics
Robots make collecting and carrying litter washed ashore more efficient. We also accept requests to exhibit them at environmental events.